FORT COLLINS, COLO -- A Colorado State University insect specialist predicts a below-normal year for miller moths but an increase in aphids.
Entomologist Whitney Cranshaw said Tuesday there were fewer millers in the caterpillar stage last year, and probably fewer eggs.
He also says fewer miller moths will flock to gardens this year because a wet spring in some areas produced plenty of native flowers for them to feed on.
But the wet spring means a boom in aphids, which draw sap from new growth on trees, shrubs and flowers.
Cranshaw says there also seem to be fewer bugs that prey on aphids this year.
Cranshaw predicts a spike in aphids in the next couple weeks, followed by a decline when predators catch up and the growth spurt in vegetation ends.
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