# What do box elder bugs want? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947 "2010-02-14T13:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/1 "2010-02-14T13:36:20Z")
I do not understand the ecological niche of box elder bugs. They seem to be everywhere, yet I can’t determine what, if anything, they do besides crawl on things. Help me out. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/2 "2010-02-14T13:40:11Z")
They fly too. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/3 "2010-02-14T13:46:45Z")
I have never seen that. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/4 "2010-02-14T13:51:45Z")
If they are inside your house, it’s because they are trying to hibernate. They eat various plants so can be a pest inside and out. Box elder seeds are their favorite food and that’s how they got their name. ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/5 "2010-02-14T14:09:08Z")
> [@](#): > > What do box elder bugs want? SEX, DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL! Actually I have no idea. They do seem to hang out in huge numbers on front side of my house. Since there is nothing for them to eat (vinyl siding) and they don’t seem to be mating I can only guess that their purpose is to annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/6 "2010-02-14T16:23:18Z")
To be box younger bugs again. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/7 "2010-02-14T16:32:24Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > If they are inside your house, it’s because they are trying to hibernate. > > They eat various plants so can be a pest inside and out. Box elder seeds are their favorite food and that’s how they got their name. Ok, so they crawl around and they eat plants. They must breed like crazy too because ITSM there are an awful lot of them. Not that they are being a nuisance, they simply have a rep almost everywhere I go. I wonder if they taste bad to birds. Birds ought to be more attuned to the presence of slow-crawling bugs than I am, so why hasn’t this vast population been gobbled up? ---
**Author:** ![ZSPHOBIASZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b19c9b/32.png) [@ZSPHOBIASZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZSPHOBIASZ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/8 "2010-02-14T16:38:23Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I do not understand the ecological niche of box elder bugs. They seem to be everywhere, yet I can’t determine what, if anything, they do besides crawl on things. > > Help me out. I think they want to make baby box elder bugs. Box younger bugs? LOL This si called the mating urge and is part of the ciurlce of life. After mating the lady bug will put her eggs someplace safe and they will hatch. That is why you get new bugs. Also, 1 bug can make many many eggs for new bugs. They are not like mamalls like people where you get only 1 person or a small litre of mamals that arent people. So that is why they come fasty. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/9 "2010-02-16T01:30:51Z")
> [@ZSPHOBIASZ](#): > > I think they want to make baby box elder bugs. Box younger bugs? LOL > This si called the mating urge and is part of the ciurlce of life. After mating the lady bug will put her eggs someplace safe and they will hatch. That is why you get new bugs. > > Also, 1 bug can make many many eggs for new bugs. They are not like mamalls like people where you get only 1 person or a small litre of mamals that arent people. > > So that is why they come fasty. Not very helpful, but thanks for trying. Look at it this way: there seems to be an ecological niche for crawly bugs. All things being equal, I’d expect to see dozens of crawly bug species, each in equal measure. Or I would expect to see one dominant, impressive crawly bug species. But that isn’t what we get. Box Elder bugs seem to be the dominant force in the creeping bug-o-sphere. Yet there does not seem to be anything remarkable about them- except for the fact that they crawl around seemingly aimlessly. Ants and bees behave with purpose. Other creatures have great strength or chemical defenses or… something. Box Elder bugs don’t seem to have anything special going for them that would make them the dominant crawly bug species. So. What invisible ability do they have? Or are they just lucky? ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/10 "2010-02-16T02:25:49Z")
Boxelder bugs eat [boxelder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxelder) leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-box-elder-bugs-want/528947/11 "2010-02-16T14:19:20Z")
They want Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt to star in their life story.