NATCHEZ — This year’s warm winter means there’s potential that the Miss-Lou could see more  of its creepy-crawly residents.

Mississippi State University Extension Entomology Specialist Blake Layton said many Mississippi pests are native species and are adapted to the region’s winter weather, warm or cold. Non-native pests are a different story, however.

Fire ants, for example, might be less visible this spring because the warm environment has driven them under ground. Normally, in late winter and early spring months the ants will build their colonies higher to collect solar rays and gather warmth. Because it’s warmer, the ants don’t have to do that as much.

“In the spring, when it’s warmer and you’re working in the yard, you mow over the top of their colonies or you knock them over, but the colonies are still there — they just want to stay in the cool ground,” Layton said.

But there’s another reason fire ants might not be so visible this year — the Argentine Ant. Like the fire ant, the Argentine Ant is an invasive species. Layton said it will move north following warmer winters. He also said he’s confident Adams County has them.

“(Argentine Ants) like landscapes with trees and shrubs, and if they are there, that lawn may not have many fire ants,” Layton said.

“If they are outside they are a good thing, but if they get inside and are in your Captain Crunch, they can be a real annoyance.”

Adams County Extension Director David Carter said the warm winter means that there’s potential that the area will see the nuisance buffalo gnats earlier and longer. Unlike mosquitoes, which breed in standing water, buffalo gnats breed underwater in creeks and streams. The warmer water means that the gnats have the potential for earlier breeding, Carter said.

“The recipe is there for a lot of insect multiplications,” he said.

Layton said he also expects to see green stink bugs, which can damage row crops and vegetable gardens alike, to have a significant presence.

“With southern green stink bugs, we see populations of it ebb and flow because of the winter weather,” he said.

“This year I will expect to see more southern green stink bug as they build up in the summer.”

Layton and Carter both emphasized that insect populations are subject to the same conditions as other animal populations — drought can kill them off, too much rain can bring in disease and predators can eat their fill on the surplus population.

One pest from the past, however, won’t be making a return even though this winter would have been ideal for it.

“Here in Mississippi, we have eradicated the boll weevil,” Layton said. “When we had boll weevil in the state, after a winter like this we would be saying, ‘We better be getting ready for a bad season.’”