Variations in the weather from season to season and year to year may have a dramatic effect on plants, animals and insects in the desert creating problems with species that usually are not a problem. With increased rainfall they become tremendous pests.
A few years ago in Tucson, excessive rainfall resulted in a very large growth of mustard weeds in the surrounding desert. This weed became an overabundant resource for False Chinch Bugs, a small flying insect, always present in small number, but never noticed. The population grew to such a point that for a month, attracted to the city by lights at night, the insects covered building all over downtown and central Tucson, creating a panic and giving the news media plenty to report on.
To learn more about how weather and pests can affect you, click here.
