Ladybugs, box elder bugs and cluster flies have begun to emerge from hibernation, seeking warmth on south-facing windows, around furnace outlets and on light fixtures, both on the farm and in town.

Blame last year's long fall and mild winter, scientists say. Normally, those pests - annoying, though harmless - hibernate in building cracks and crevices, lay eggs in the spring, then die. But warmer-than-normal temperatures in recent months have encouraged early emergence.

"They have been using your home and my home as a hotel," said Ken Holscher, an entomologist with Iowa State University Extension in Ames.

Rich Pope, a pest management specialist with Iowa State Extension, said pest populations vary, depending on species and on weather.

"The biology of every insect is different," he said.

Ladybugs, also known as Asian lady beetles, for instance, were populous in parts of Iowa late last summer and early fall, when warm, dry weather spawned a big population of aphids, on which ladybugs feast.

"They had a tremendous food supply out there," Holscher said.

This year's pest population will depend in large part on weather conditions later this spring when the next crop of bugs is hatched, he and other experts said.

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