It turns out that the shad flies aren’t just in North Bay.
In North Bay, they are a phenomenon. People have tshirts with shad flies on them. They’re kind of elegant, these flies, with long curved tails, and almond shaped wings. But the number of them is freaky, and they are kind of … wormy. Apparently they don’t have any mouths. They come out of these shallow lakes to mate. The females lay their eggs back in the lake and then they die. It’s a short life in the air, and they don’t seem well suited to it. But last night it was dramatic. Even without the tshirts.
We were eating smores at the campground at sunset with our new buds Bryan the dj, Renee the high school teacher and their kids – from Cochrane, and Mark the FedEx biker guy from Brampton when we looked up. The orange sky was full of mating shad flies. All the ones on the ground had disappeared, and they looped and spun together. The fish were leaping, trying to get at them. As were the dragonflies. This morning, our tent fly was covered with dead shad flies. Ah nature, ain’t it fine!
Better than mosquitoes, I would have to guess! I've also seen them as far south as the Penetanguishene area, where my family had a summer place when I was a kid. Not in the T-Dot, though - I've yet to see one within the city limits!
ReplyDeleteObserving the mating of shad flies? Wow. I'll be good! Write nothing else. Bye. G
ReplyDeletewhat about the mossies? cbc were saying today that there is a man going around zapping all the eggs trying to bring down the number of these pests..... to make life easier for youse guys and the threat of carrying wondrous diseases ....are you ignoring these terrible beasts or what?
ReplyDeleteAlas, you three - there are plenty of mozzies as well!
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