Mayflies hatch and they always find a way to leave a mess

Posted 6/30/21

By Bruce Karnick [email protected] Mayflies are gross! There, it has been said. Because of the sheer quantity of them, they stink, they make the surfaces they die on slippery, they are a pain in …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Mayflies hatch and they always find a way to leave a mess

Posted

By Bruce Karnick

[email protected]

Mayflies are gross! There, it has been said. Because of the sheer quantity of them, they stink, they make the surfaces they die on slippery, they are a pain in the rear to clean up, and the pop when you step on one is, well, just, YUCK! Hastings finally had a big Mayfly hatch over the weekend, and they were all over town.

But what purpose do they serve? They hatch, get jiggy with each other, lay eggs, gross us humans out, and die. That’s a pretty lame life to live in all of one to three days. The mating piece takes place in the air and the females can lay anywhere from 400 to 3,000 eggs. The typical size of Mayfly in our area is an inch long, be thankful, there are relatively gigantic version in Europe where they are about four inches long. Mayflies are an amazing food source for fish, which is a good thing. Fish do a great job of thinning out the Mayfly population before they reach the flying stage.

By the time this hits newsstands, the Mayfly mess should be done, and you’ll only have the pictures to remind you of their short time spent here in Hastings.

Mayflies make their way all the way up to 15th Street and beyond from the river. Here, the flies are attracted to the light of the M& H Chicken and Car Wash sign. Shortly after the picture was taken, both M& H and Holiday turned off their lights so their customers would not be bothered by excessive Mayflies.

Photo by Bruce Karnick