Something Wild: Celebrate the Plague of Black Flies

Imagine yourself on a walk in the woods. It’s early spring; tiny tree flowers are clinging to branches. A nearby stream quietly gurgles and peepers pepper the air. Idyllic, right? Then, all of a sudden….a brobdingnagian buzz from a lilliputian louse! Paradise lost! (Sorry, mixing Miltonian metaphors.) Well…maybe not. First off, let’s identify that buzz, it doesn’t emanate from a louse, it comes from black flies. Everyone’s favorite bug to hate this time of year. As hours of daylight increase, temperatures start to rise, making conditions just right for black flies, and that’s worth celebrating. There are places in the state that don’t have black flies. And the reason that is the case comes down to something you heard in your imaginary walk through the woods…the nearby stream. Whereas mosquitoes thrive in stagnant pools, puddles and even bottle caps, black flies need cold, clean, open, running water. So the places that don’t have black flies tend to be urban and suburban developments