They may look menacing, but the good news is that those peculiar red bugs spotted in San Diego County are harmless.
Scantius aegyptius, or “red bug,” have been spotted and identified for the first time in a San Diego County lab this fall, county health officials said Wednesday.
Hailing from the Mediterranean region, these bugs are 8 millimeters long and have a vibrant red color. They were first discovered by a Ramona resident in the resident’s yard.
The good news for us is that they’re benign. And health officials said residents shouldn’t expect them to have an impact on gardening and viable plants; they appear to feast on weeds.
“They are not harmful to people. They are not harmful to pets,” Tracy Ellis, a San Diego County entomologist, said in an informational YouTube video. “And they can’t bite.”
The bugs were first identified in Southern California in Orange County in June 2009.
Since the bugs are new to our area, San Diego County’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is seeking the public’s help. If you find a red bug in your yard, bring a sample to either the San Diego or San Marcos lab for testing.
