Walking to the car is a battle. The May Flies have hatched. They are everywhere. And there are millions of them. I must keep my mouth shut when I am outside. Fortunately, they only stay around for a bit over a month. This is not May, but they are already here. The windows on the water side of the house are covered with these bugs. The bids have a field day eating those millions of bugs. Their life cycle is fascinating so I don't mind them.
These bugs spend their time searching for a mate. Time is not on their side. After they hatch, their sole purpose in life is to find a mate. They spend from 1 to 3 days searching. When the eggs are fertilized, the bugs die. They land on the top of the water and then sink to the bottom of the lake. The eggs sink into the mud at the bottom where they stay for 11 months.
Next the eggs morph into a May Fly and rise to the surface of the water, where they take off flying in search of a mate. After mating, they die and the whole cycle begins again. The fish eat lots of these bugs as they float to the top and sink to the bottom. Even better, those bugs fatten up the birds as they are heading north.
I do not know a lot of information. For instance, what triggers the hatch? Is it temperature? Today the temperature is much lower than the past few days and there is a noticeable decrease on the bugs on my window. People do not like these millions of bugs. It is true that I could not sit on the deck right now. But they only last a short time before I never see them again. They fatten up the birds and fish so I like them. I just must remember to keep my mouth shut when I walk to the car.
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