MMAM Clean-up Crew

Being on the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum has the privilege of beautiful river views 24/7. So when accumulated bits of styrofoam appeared along our shoreline and threatened the peace, I assembled a team of colleagues, and a vacuum, trash bags, and a REALLY long extension cord to be at the ready to handle the styrofoam.

However, once MMAM clean-up crew had assembled riverside, it didn’t take long to realize that the tiny bunched-up granular white pieces didn’t seem like styrofoam at all. They were softer, more fibrous, and almost like a fabric. After a quick search, Google told us they were something we weren’t expecting at all: dead tiny white bugs. What we saw spread across our cement pad were Fluffy Hackberry Aphids, little invasive insects that infest hackberry trees. Although they aren’t detrimental to the hackberry trees they infest, they secrete a thick honeydew that creates a mess on the tree’s surfaces and make it more prone to molding. So we left the cool dead bugs alone and picked up some of the trash we found nearby. Overall, 10/10 side quest!

- Associate Curator of Climate & Clean Water, Kamala Nair