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Mysterious bug bites assail D.C.

These unexplained bugs are not expected to leave until the end of fall.

Published: August 9, 2021 9:47am

Updated: August 9, 2021 10:23am

Though cicadas are no longer swarming the city, residents of D.C. are still suffering from their aftermath as mysterious bugs have appeared to feed on leftover eggs. 

The so-called "Oak Leaf Itch Mites," or "oak mites" for short, are invisible to the naked eye, but their bites cause painful and itchy sores, according to The New York Post. The sores take about 10 hours to develop.

"It's a phenomenon related to cicadas being there, and it will dissipate," Gene Kritsky, dean of behavioral and natural sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, told the Washington Post. "And eventually you won't have it next year, because the cicadas will not be emerging."

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