Ohio is having a rough time lately. Flooding has been a serious issue, and numerous tornados have plowed through the state this past spring. Now, they’re dealing with even more – parts of Northern Ohio have a mayfly invasion that’s so bad, local weather radar is picking it up.
If you don’t love bugs or you have a weak stomach, I don’t recommend looking into this further.
Weather radar in Ohio detected the swarm last Thursday afternoon, the 27th of June. It appeared as a green blob over Lake Erie. Experts were able to track the movement, and most were impressed that there were so many that the bugs could be tracked easily.
MAYFLY ALERT!
STORMFOX detected a mayfly invasion in our western basin around 1AM this morning! @fox8news pic.twitter.com/VFH7Kik0I0— Jenn Harcher (@JennHarcher) June 27, 2019
Pictures from Cleveland and the surrounding areas are horrifying. Residents have snapped photos and video that show what appears to be thousands of the creatures crawling all over cars, homes, and people.
You literally cannot see the street through the mass of mayflies, which have no concern for the people they are inconveniencing.
If you’ve never lived near a large body of water, there is a good chance you have never come into contact with a mayfly. Also known as ‘Canadian soldiers’, ‘shadflies’, or ‘fishflies’, they are insects that are common in the warm spring and summer months and only appear near the water.
Mayfly eggs bury in lake sediment and emerge from the water fully formed after one to two years of incubation. These mayflies, in particular, come from Lake Erie.
Mayflies are completely harmless on their own. They don’t bite or sting and don’t pose a real problem to anyone that interacts with them. Swarms, however, are a different story.
Swarms of mayflies can be dangerous because they are hard to see through, and can cause reduced visibility with cars or motorways. Some bridges have been forced to close temporarily because there were simply too many bugs in the air, and driving over it wasn’t safe.
Experts say that no matter how annoying these mayflies are to the residents, it is actually a very good thing that we are seeing them.
The intense swarms of mayflies mean that Lake Erie is healthy, and creating a good environment for life to flourish. Mayflies have long been an indicator of lake health.
It’s not a good thing for residents dealing with the problem, but mayflies themselves only live about two full days after emerging from the water. Swarms like this don’t often stick around for longer than a month. While inconvenient now, residents will soon be able to see their cars and drive safely.
