A June Bug Epidemic...?

Most everyone in the South (and probably other parts as well) know what June bugs are.

Here around my house they can be seen in the Spring, climbing on the screens and generally making a pest of themselves...no pun intended. I would say that I can't remember them ever causing an epidemic, though. Here's a case where some folks thought otherwise.

The June Bug Epidemic

Photo credit: Patrick Coin

Here’s an odd one. The June bug epidemic refers to an incident in summer 1962 when a worker in a textile mill in the USA claimed to have been bitten by some sort of dangerous insect. Convinced that the latest batch of fabric that the mill had received from England was infested with creepy critters, the woman refused to go back to work. She complained of headaches, dizziness, and a painful rash. Before long, more than 50 of her colleagues were also insisting that they had been bitten by the elusive “June bug.”

Understandably, the mill was closed down for inspection, and officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta were dispatched to deal with the outbreak. But to their surprise, they could find zero evidence that such a creature even existed. The health inspectors found only two biting insects in the entire plant, neither of which could have caused the symptoms described by the workers.

Despite this dumbfounding discovery, they decided to have the mill sprayed for insects anyway. After all, there was nothing else they could do. But the most incredible part of the story is this: After the mill had been sprayed and reopened, not a single person complained of June bug bites again. Was there really something hiding in the fabric?

Something sounds a little fishy about this story, if you ask me. I've been around June bugs all my life, playing with them, picking them up and such. Never had one bite me that I know of.

Coffee in the kitchen. Kinda cool on the patio and it's misting rain.