To: Rich Lee
It is obvious in your condemnation of Cicadae that you have never lived on the shores of Lake Erie. On Lake Erie and I assume on the other Great (and lesser) Lakes they have the following problem. That problem depending on your points of view are called June Bugs because they arrive in June but actually they are May Flies.
The May Flies hatch at the bottom of the lake and when mature rise to the surface. They eat through holes in the sides of their bodies. They are moved by the wind currents and eventually make it to shore. Once on shore they dry out and are capable of flight and once dry they can’t eat so they only live for a couple of days. They don’t make noise, they don’t smell, but they do swarm. In swarms they are attracted to light and can obscure a light in a very short period. The Toledo Harbor light was obscured to the point that ships several miles away could not see the light. The light keepers had to hose the bugs off the lantern house and they had to do this several times a night for four or five nights.
The May Flies would get so thick on the highway that semi trucks would lose traction and skid out.
As I had stated above most people called them June Bugs because they arrived in June but actually they are May Flies. However if you lived on the southern shores of Lake Erie they were called Canadian Soldiers
