Update: Burning Man bug problem dying down

Does Burning Man really have a bug infestation, or is it just an unsettling rumor?

The bad news is that it is true. The good news is that it should not last for too much longer.

"The people out there said that the numbers seem to be going down," said Nevada Department of Agriculture state entomologist Jeff Knight on Thursday.

Since early last week, Burning Man staff and volunteers have been reporting swarms of bugs at the build site for Burning Man, although it does not appear that they pose any kind of health risk to the more than 70,000 people that will be showing up Aug. 30 through Sept. 7.

"A lot of these things last only a week or two," Knight said on Wednesday.

Burning Man organizers stated in a Blog post Thursday that: "We're hoping that continuing hot weather and a huge swarm of Burners descending upon their Black Rock Desert home sends them packing before long, but we can't say for sure that'll happen. So here's how you can prepare (y'know, Radical Self-reliance and stuff)."

On Thursday, an entomologist from the Nevada Department of Agriculture found no evidence of mosquitoes at the site, which greatly reduces any fears about the spread of West Nile Virus. Although hot springs at the edges of the Black Rock Desert could harbor mosquito populations, the hot springs are relatively removed from the Burning Man site.

"It's mainly the false chinch bugs out there. They're eating the tumble mustard, which normally grows early in the spring. It is kind of a weed of disturbed areas. It was obviously very lush at one time, but now it's very dried out and that's when (false chinch bugs) become adults. The little guys are really good fliers," Knight said.

False chinch bugs look like long-bodied flies and can emit an odor similar to that of stinkbugs, which also were found at the site on Thursday. One of Knight's employees found a breed of stinkbugs called Say's stinkbugs, which are light green in color.

Although Knight initially identified false blister beetles, which are largely associated with rotting wood, based on images seen on social media, none were found Thursday.

Both of the critters found en masse on Thursday are attracted to light. In fact, entomologists use lights to capture such bugs, and amber-hued lights are better in the interest of detracting them, Knight said. He dismissed speculation that the bugs stowed away via the tons of wood that Burning Man volunteers and workers have been shipping to the playa.

The conditions were simply right for the critters this year.

As for Allen, he is excited to add a new slide to his bug collection, one that reads "Black Rock City."

"I'll have to bring this to my next convention," he said.