Lake Erie

The Mayflies love to find a screen to attach! This golf cart on Kellys Island wasn't rented today

It Is Mayfly Season

Much depends upon how one views these critters. For many years when Lake Erie was considered polluted, not even the Mayflies hatched. Today they appear in masses. For those unfamiliar with these bugs, they lay their eggs which remain in the Lake for a year (or more) and then in the metamorphosis as they reach the adult stage (like a mosquito) they quickly produce the eggs for the "next generation", then surface and fly from the water. Their life span is one day. The season lasts about three weeks.

We awake to find them everywhere. I found a couple of shots to show what can be a daily accumulation. They are attracted by lights. The nearby community of Port Clinton had to use a tractor with a scoop to clean the Main Street of the heavy infestation.

As a child I knew them as a Canadian Soldier. When they resurfaced after an absence of several years, our friends to the north heard we were calling them Canadian Soldiers. They began to call them American Soldiers. In good hospitality they are now known as "Mayflies" and also an indication of how clean our lake really is. We don't mind the daily clean up at all!

However you consider them, they tell us our Lake is clean and healthy!