Burning Man festival swarming with biting bugs

Officials are working to identify the biting pests before 70,000 Burners show up for the annual event at the end of the month.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO, Nev. — The Burning Man site is swarming not with the thousands of guests expected to attend the annual event, but bugs.

The Reno Gazette Journal reports (http://on.rgj.com/1K8YBPX) state officials are working to identify the coin-shaped green pests that are biting workers who are setting up the site.

More than 70,000 people are expected to attend Burning Man from Aug. 30 to Sept. 7.

Nevada Department of Agriculture state entomologist Jeff Knight says the bugs aren't bloodsuckers and do not seem to pose a health risk. He said these types of infestations usually only last a couple of weeks, and recent rains and bright lights used at night could be attracting the flying nibblers.

A state agriculture official will be at the site Thursday taking bug samples.

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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

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