Black Fly Report?
 

What's the current black fly situation around the Lake?

My brother and I are heading up this week for a few days of spring cleaning, raking, hauling, etc., and as I look at the calendar, I realize that we might be hitting peak black fly time.

Woo-hoo! :D

Yikes!
 

Spent half the day Sunday and all day Monday working in the yard, have polka-dots to prove it! :emb: Black flies everywhere, and boy are they hungry! Bring your favorite repellant!

They were bad last week
 

We were up last week. After about 10 minutes outside, we realized we couldn't go anywhere with out the deep woods off (which worked for us).

Nothing like them down here in greater PHL, huh? ;) Although we *are* supposed to see those 17-year cicadas any day now.

We'll be working up in the woods a lot Fri through Sun, so I'm planning on bringing the long sleeves, gloves, and the hat with the netting. My brother has never really experienced the joy of the NH State Bird.

We were up the lake this past weekend opening up. I would recommend a hat, maybe gloves, oxygen tank, safety glasses, nose plugs and knee high boots! :D

Solution
 

Okay then, looks like the complete SCUBA set-up will be brought along for the rare topside expedition.

Black Fly Report
 

The Black Flies are alive & well in the Buoy 3 area. Isn't this very early in the season for them to arrive. Like, I thought that starting in the end of April, we get the May Flies, which do not bite, and then the black flies start to roll in on June 1. But that's not the way it is happening this year.

How do you say; Where's the After Bite, a product made right here in NH?

Hey FLL,I always thought they were one in the same.We always called them either black flies or may BUGS and thought they were always here for 2-3 weeks in May.Always seem to be battling them when I'm doing the spring clean-up(Cleaning flower beds and spreading mulch) in early May. SS

FLL is back! Nice to see another Junior Member! (Ever get your engine sorted out?)

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've spent all week outdoors hauling, scraping and painting (weather permitting), and haven't seen any black flies. I always associated May with black fly "talk", though.

A friend stopped by and described them to me. I think I've seen two. Perhaps because my woods are left natural -- and I don't have flowerbeds, grass, or mulch?

The bats have been flying around for about a week. I thought May flies came out later -- like mid-June.

Those Darn Black Flies
 

The general rule of thumb that I have always heard is that they are out from Mother's Day until Father's Day. Speaking of bugs.....check out this link and turn up the volume! click here to squish some black flies use your mouse to control the swatter!

Mosquitoes
 

To me it wasn't the Black Flies this weekend but the MOSQUITOES that were driving me NUTS! Especially today Sunday, after the rain subsided.

Good News / Bad News
 

Good News: The black flies seem to be done.

Bad News: Mosquitoes are as big as helicopters and there are LOTS of them!

I always heard that once you see mosquitoes, the black flies are done. Seems to be holding true this year. As mentioned earlier, they were really thick this weekend. Bring DEET!

Done? DONE?!?! AIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! No way. This morning, my brother and I were MAULED as we canoed from Melvin Village toward Specticle Island. It was the first time all we'd neglected to use any Jungle Juice, and we REGRETTED it. Granted, those flies out on the islands don't have as much human blood (or any other blood) to harvest, so they were MORE than a little hungry. But rest assured, the flies are alive and well as of Monday (at least on the eastern side of the Lake).

gfe

Loon
 

Nice loon pic from this morning...

http://www.pbase.com/image/29092451

Grant's Loon
 

Thanks for posting the loon photo. I hope to see more up there this year.

I thought May flies and black flies were one and the same. Turns out they're not. Mayflies
http://www.gardensafari.net/pics/spr.../may_fly_t.jpg
Facts about Black Flies: Black flies
Small humpbacked flies that develop in clear running water, unlike mosquitoes
The adults live for about 2-3 weeks
Females feed on blood, males on nectar
Black flies bite in the middle of the day and like dark colors
As the female bites, she injects saliva into the skin, which is highly irritating and leads to swelling and itching
Females deposit from 150 to 500 eggs in submerged vegetation. The eggs hatch in four to five days.

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livest..._fly_thumb.jpg

the bugs
 

LOL, Rattlesnake Gal the black flies are the ones that bite us, the mayflies are the ones the fish bite. Thanks for that website on bugs though. Nice photos and info in it.

Thanks for the info on flies rattlesnake gal....makes me not want to go outside!!! The ticks have been pretty bad this year too!!!! I'm pulling them off the dogs... and last week I pulled a few deer ticks off myself!!!! :eek: