Ask A Scientist© Veterinary Topics Archive

 
name         Sandra S.
age          40s

Question -   Are June bugs harmful for my dog to eat?
-----------------
Many dogs will eat June Bugs or their larvae without complications.  In
fact, canids in the wild eat a lot more insects than people previously
realized.  The only issues could be if the bugs have been sprayed with
an insecticie or if your dog eats so many that she develops an
intestinal obstruction, which always happens to some dogs during the 17
year cicada eruption.  But June Bugs are so much smaller than cicadas
that this would seem a very unlikely event!

Laura Hungerford, DVM, MPH, PhD
University of Maryland
=====================================================