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Mayflies and Photos of Mayflies Invade Cleveland

By Eric Sandy on Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 10:54 am

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A mayfly as seen on the side of a car in Lakewood

Eric Sandy / Scene
A mayfly as seen on the side of a car in Lakewood

You can't throw a cat in this town today without hitting a literal wall of mayflies. THEY'RE HERE.

The main things you need to know about mayflies - and this year's batch of hell-bug nightmares, in particular - include:

- The 2014 invasion has started off a bit more slowly than in other years
- There are presently millions of them hanging out on walls/cars/everything along the whole Lake Erie shore
- They only live in their fully matured and annoying forms for about a day or two (though their eggs and larvae lead muddy lives at the bottom of the lake for up to two years)
- The more inventive among us will have likely created an unofficial Mayfly Drinking Game by noon today
- A heavy invasion is a good barometer for the overall health of Lake Erie, despite the barrage of news stories that says otherwise
- Mayflies emit "a fishy smell once they've been squished"
- In regions of New Guinea and Africa, mayflies are eaten once the population has fully invaded.
- Male mayflies have two penises; female mayflies have two gonopores.

And now, a few fun photos of mayflies in action:

Mayflies! Mayflies everywhere! pic.twitter.com/NylJ32djmo
— Cuyahoga Planning (@countyplanning) June 18, 2014

Mayflies pic.twitter.com/ISUmYFmGdB
— Jorge I. Figueroa (@JIFF01) June 18, 2014

@19ActionNews Here's one for you: Mayflies on my home in Avon Lake. Yuck! pic.twitter.com/DuqvLDa77z
— Melissa S.S. (@MSteeleSteeber) June 18, 2014

Mayflies are here! http://t.co/2DsU3NLJb6 pic.twitter.com/oWSXsXjGVI
— 19 Action News WOIO (@19ActionNews) June 18, 2014

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About The Author

Eric Sandy

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.

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