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Spokes
12-09-2010, 14:40
My psychic friend (knows all, sees all) predicts the 2011 black fly season will be much worse than last year. I think he's basing this on the early winter storms dumping more snowfall totals than usual so far this year. Those larvae are gonna love it when it all melts!

Did you know there are over 1800 known species of black flies, 11 of which are extinct?


http://mrg.bz/o7BS8Y

Blissful
12-09-2010, 14:41
There were none on July 1 this past summer. It was nice.

Spokes
12-09-2010, 14:42
Already confirmation!!!!!!!

dgaf169
12-09-2010, 14:58
Yall have nothing to worry about i killed them all...just look outside, do you see any????????

weary
12-09-2010, 15:36
I haven't been bitten by a black fly in almost six months.

Tinker
12-09-2010, 15:53
Wet springs with moderate to warm temperatures bring lots of black flies. They breed in fast moving water. No prediction necessary. Keep an eye on the weather.

woodsy
12-09-2010, 16:56
2011 is going to be real bad for black flies.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/Maine%20Blackfly%20Breeders%20AssociationBlack fly breeders association just got a federal grant to
resume operations after a couple year lay off.
They cited too many people coming to the north woods early and bug dope sales lagging.

Spokes
12-09-2010, 17:03
Maybe we can just shake the magic "Blackfly Swarm Dome" (http://www.maineblackfly.org/swarmdome.jpg) for the answer?

Hobbler
12-09-2010, 18:03
I sure hope that the Guru is wrong for this upcomming year. This past summer here in the south we did have long spells without precip and here in central Virginia there was a record setting 68 days of 90 degrees or more temperature, most days 95 or better. Yes I agree...Water is the necessary trigger. Without frequent rain, there were fewer cycles of life for the flies. It was nice hiking with the exception of the oppressive heat every day. A trade-off of some sort I guess. Since September, we have been getting large amounts at a time, several 3"+ rainfalls. That should do it! Yeah, I think that they will be back with a vengence this year.

Spokes...With your pace on your thru in 2009, you probably didn't have a concern for them because you were rolling so fast that there wasn't time for the flies to catch up!

By the way Spokes, I like the way you pick your nose!...I will be sure to try it the next time I hit the trail.

Cookerhiker
12-09-2010, 18:12
I confidently predict that the black flies will be gone by Sept. 1.

Spokes
12-09-2010, 19:15
.....

By the way Spokes, I like the way you pick your nose!...I will be sure to try it the next time I hit the trail.


Thanks. The girls seem to like it.

weary
12-09-2010, 21:47
I confidently predict that the black flies will be gone by Sept. 1.
Be careful with those predictions. 35 years ago a "new" black fly emerged on the Maine scene. A black fly that didn't disappear by early summer, but continued in ever increasing numbers until October frost time.

The newspapers and the scientists they interviewed all speculated that this was a "new" breed of black fly, never before seen. Well a nosy person looked back in the newspapers and found similar complaints 35 yerars earlier. Apparently this was not a new breed, but an old breed that for reasons known only to black flys, multiplies into bothersome numbers every 35 years or so.

By 2011 the cycle will be past due. If so, we shouldn't be surprised to see a rash of "new" breed flies next spring, summer and fall. And for the next several years, if history repeats itself.

Spokes
12-09-2010, 21:48
Yikes!!!!!!!

Cookerhiker
12-09-2010, 21:52
In '09, I hiked the Franconia Ridge in NH and the AT in Maine from Grafton Notch to Rt. 17 after the ATC conference. Don't remember exact dates but I know it went into August and black flies were present. To be sure, not as fierce as Spring but their presence was felt.

Someone in the know - I think the hut Croo at Galehead - said it was a "second hatching."

MedicineMan
12-09-2010, 23:12
I'll be finishing Vermont and beginning NH in August so I can gaurantee the black flies will still be there just for me :)

4eyedbuzzard
12-10-2010, 01:31
In '09, I hiked the Franconia Ridge in NH and the AT in Maine from Grafton Notch to Rt. 17 after the ATC conference. Don't remember exact dates but I know it went into August and black flies were present. To be sure, not as fierce as Spring but their presence was felt.

Someone in the know - I think the hut Croo at Galehead - said it was a "second hatching."
Yep. There's a few different species. There's usually a late summer hatch, probably of a different species than the spring bunch, but it's no where near as bad as spring when sometimes they're so thick you can choke on 'em.

Cookerhiker
12-10-2010, 08:39
Conventional wisdom says hikers - even thruhikers - slow down their pace in Northern New England because of the rugged terrain. Want to speed up your hike? Just do it in Spring/earlySummer black fly season. You'll never stop to rest more than 30 seconds!

neighbor dave
12-10-2010, 09:02
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLBXb1kgMo

Speakeasy TN
12-10-2010, 09:17
Not to tip the balance of nature but........... I was promised by my wife that if I tried a thru in 2011, she'd wipe all the bugs off the map! And she'd never lie to me! She even swears she'll miss me!

woodsy
12-10-2010, 09:37
http://www.maineblackfly.org/btshirt2.jpg

woodsy
12-10-2010, 09:46
Hehttp://www.maineblackfly.org/shirt7.jpg

warraghiyagey
12-10-2010, 10:02
There's no black flies in Maine. . . . it's all a myth. . .

woodsy
12-10-2010, 10:08
There's no black flies in Maine. . . . it's all a myth. . .

If i remember correctly, this past spring when we hiked into the AT north of Monson with vonfrick you inhaled one and gagged for a few minutes. :eek:
Still a myth ? :D

4eyedbuzzard
12-10-2010, 10:09
There's no black flies in Maine. . . . it's all a myth. . .
Are you saying "there's no such thing as a black fly?"
We may need a poll to settle the issue.
And a longer thread.

Tinker
12-12-2010, 15:05
The one pervasive blackfly myth is that they "disappear" anytime before the first hard frost. Their numbers diminish with lack of running water and cold temperatures, but one can (read "I have been") bitten :( anytime after the snow begins to melt in spring thaw until that first HARD frost. They just appear in lower numbers close to running water during dry summers.

weary
12-12-2010, 17:28
The one pervasive blackfly myth is that they "disappear" anytime before the first hard frost. Their numbers diminish with lack of running water and cold temperatures, but one can (read "I have been") bitten :( anytime after the snow begins to melt in spring thaw until that first HARD frost. They just appear in lower numbers close to running water during dry summers.
Flies, and other biting insects, do in fact continue to bite all summer. But that unique critter known as the black fly comes out each spring in Maine around mid-May and usually is gone by early July, regardless of the state of the streams -- well there are periods of exceptions every 35 years or so. But that is the only variation, I've been able to document.

Pony
12-12-2010, 17:29
Being from Ohio, I was until this past July unfamiliar with black flies. One morning in Vermont I was drying my gear on a picnic table when a swarm descended on me. I wasn't sure what they were until I started wiping blood off of the back of my neck. Before I realized I was being bit, I had close to a dozen fresh bites that swelled up and continued to itch for over a week. As a going away present another swarm visited me at Katahdin Spring Campground on September 12. I was better prepared this time and only got one bite.

Pony
12-12-2010, 17:32
Flies, and other biting insects, do in fact continue to bite all summer. But that unique critter known as the black fly comes out each spring in Maine around mid-May and usually is gone by early July, regardless of the state of the streams -- well there are periods of exceptions every 35 years or so. But that is the only variation, I've been able to document.

Hmmm... Was it possible I was savagely attacked by a different kind of foul, vile, and ruthless biting insect?

Roland
12-12-2010, 19:09
The trick in dealing with blackflies is to ignore them. That's right--ignore them. If you smack one and kill it, a dozen more will come to its funeral. You're better off to leave 'em alone. They gotta eat too. ;)

Mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter.

sheepdog
12-12-2010, 19:27
black flies are a sign of clean polution free water. be glad for em

mudhead
12-12-2010, 19:31
I wouldn't call it pollution free, but they do like clean water.

Your point is valid.

I wish we had more of them.

4eyedbuzzard
12-12-2010, 19:48
Hmmm... Was it possible I was savagely attacked by a different kind of foul, vile, and ruthless biting insect?
No, that was most likely them. They're worse in late spring, but can hang around / hatch in lesser numbers all summer in some areas. There's a bunch of species of them as well. If your bite swelled up like a 1/4 to 3/8 bump, leaked some clear fluid, and itched for a week - I'd be pretty sure it was a black fly bite.