Maine Nature News
Vol. 6, no. 22, Tuesday, May 29, 2001

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Quick jumps:  |This week's report | Editor's thought | From the press |

Wednesday, May 23. Danforth (Map 45) Black fly level = 3 We had an outbreak yesterday caused me to reconsider the 2 rating I gave it yesterday.  A.L.

Thursday, May 24. Mattawamkeag (Map 44) Black fly rating #1.  (We have a pretty high tolerance here. We are used to them year after year.  Some people may think they are a 2.) E.A.B.S.

Thursday May 24. Fryeburg (Map 4) Black flies level 2.  Mosquitoes are a b#@*!  P.H.

Thursday May 24. Kingfield (Map 29)  Black flies.  Kingfield  is holding steady at a two.  C.C.

Thursday May 24. Cumberland (Map 5)  [Black fly] severity = 2.  D.H.M.

Friday, May 25. Caribou (Map 65)  First June bugs of the season hitting the window screens tonight.  Apple, chokecherry, pin cherry blossoms seen (and smelled) everywhere.  A 2-1/4" (57 mm) giant stonefly on the cellar wall by a flower bed.  C.B.K.

Friday, May 25. Kingfield (Map 29) Black flies level 1.  G.D.

Friday, May 25.  Freeport (Map 6) Black flies level 1.  G.D.

Saturday, May 26.  Bristol (Map 7)  Round Pond.  Black fly level: 2+.  R.H.T.

Saturday, May 26. T4 R13 WELS (Map 49) Pine Stream Deadwater.  Black Fly Level = 3.  D.W.

Saturday, May 26. Bowdoin College East.  (Map 42)  Gulf Hagas Mountain and West Peak.  No snow remained anywhere.  At nearly all altitudes purple trillium (including several impressively large specimens) and painted trillium were in full flower.  The stage of Canada mayflower bloom, however, was very elevation-dependent, ranging from just-budding near West Peak’s summit, to full and abundant flowers on the flanks of Gulf Hagas Mountain.  Delicate wood anemones were seen in a few places.
    Lots of current moose sign, including evidence that they are starting to feed on new green shoots and leaves.  Deer scat was seen in a few places at lower altitude.  Weasel scat was noted high on the south face of West Peak and (therefore?) no squirrels.  Birds identified included:  black-capped chickadee, evening grosbeak, ruby-throated hummingbird and scarlet tanager.  The distinctive calls or songs of about eight more species were heard but not identified -- which speaks for learning more of this method, especially since forest birds are often hidden from view, though clearly audible.  Observation of one toad and one small Eastern garter snake rounded out the wildlife sightings. 
   A number of stream beds were dry; though several brooks and springs were still running, perhaps from the great fund of snow meltwater still in the water table.  Black flies were a level 2 moving toward a 3 as the nearly breezeless afternoon wore on.  F.W.

Saturday, May 26. T4 R13 WELS (Map 49) Pine Stream Deadwater. On a canoe trip on Pine Stream Deadwater today my wife and I saw more American bitterns than we've ever seen before in any one area.  We saw at least seven individuals and some of those we suspect we saw again because when they decided to take flight we could see a few hundred meters ahead of the general vicinity of their landing.  The stream meanders lazily through several hundred acres of marsh land that years ago had been flooded because of a dam.  Sun-bleached tree trunks stand as ghostly reminders of times past when  log drives were common in "the deep north woods".
    On the downstream leg of our trip we encountered four pair of Canada geese, separated by several hundred meters of stream.  And between the first two pairs and the last two, one goose all alone.  Was its mate hidden from view in the swale?  We can hope so but we had the feeling it was indeed forlorn, alone in this world. 
   As our canoe glided through the water we could see scores of little wakes in the water from scattering fishes, like the wakes from tiny torpedoes.  It seemed that every paddle stroke was countered by the tiny splashes of northern leopard frogs.  They numbered far beyond counting.  However, we saw not one turtle and only heard one bull frog croaking.  Black ducks were plentiful. We saw at least a dozen.  Some exploded into flight from the swale grass, back from the water (from nests?); if they hadn't taken flight we would have never known they were there.  We also  saw a few mergansers and ringnecks. 
   Finally, after at least three miles of paddling, we turned a corner to surprise a young bull moose feeding in mid-stream.  Sometimes we passed "islands" of rock ledges bedecked with pine trees that were comforting in a subtle way; a relief from the acres and acres of swale, mud, and slow moving brown water.  Irises could be everywhere -- unfortunately none are bloomed yet. 
   We landed at one of the ledges and found wild columbine scattered all over.  It’s going to be an even more beautiful spot when they bloom.  ( I can imagine this place a few weeks from now when dragon and damsel flies make their appearance and scatter horseflies from their flight path.) We stood under the pines looking around, stretching our cramped legs.  A slight breeze helped to keep the black flies and mosquitoes at bay.  We could imagine we were the only people to be there in years.  Acres of marsh surrounded us. And then a surprise.  I looked down at my feet to make sure none of the hundreds of ants that swarmed over the rock made their way up my ankles and I saw a token from an age long ago.  An arrow head, chiseled from fine quartz, its tip broken off.  Some time long before the tree trunks we now saw bleached in the sun even started growing, people were here, perhaps to hunt ancestors of the geese and moose we saw today and the great, great, great grandfather of the deer we saw feeding at the stream's edge near dusk on our return.  D.W.

Sunday, May 27. Seboeis (Map 43) Black Fly Level = 3.  (3 is as high as I can go, huh?) L.C.

Sunday, May 27. Nashville Plantation (Map 63) In a swampy area beside the Beaver Brook Tote Road, several colorful colonies of two kinds of flowering shrubs:  Pale Laurel Kalmia polifolia and Rhodora Azalea Rhododendron canadense.    C.B.K.

Sunday, May 27. The Forks (Map 30) Black fly level = 3++.   I'd base this level upon the number of inhalations, bleeding bites, and the fact that they were undeterred by a moderate breeze.  S.B.

Sunday, May 27. T2 R10 WELS (Map 50)  Hurd Brook. Black Fly level = 3.  D.W.

Tuesday, May 29. Danforth (Map 45) Black fly level = 3.  A.L.

Tuesday, May 29.  Norway (Map 11) So far I've encountered no black flies, either in Norway, where  I'm working, nor in Pownal (Map 5), where I'm living.  In Pownal, I'll be pretty surprised if we don't see some in the next few days -- there ought to be enough running water to make any black fly happy for a day or two after that downpour.  T.G.

Editor's thought

The importance of none

   To round out Nature observations it is often very useful to note the absence of something.  A change in a pattern may be signaled, or a stage in a cycle. 
   In a recent earthquake, the Maine Geological Survey asked for reports of either experience of a tremor, or if no tremor was felt.  For some reason, it was a lot harder to get reports of the latter.
   In D.W.'s report from T4 R13 WELS you will read several good examples of reporting "none."  I think you will agree these convey the author's sense of inquiry and wonder, and thus add depth to the report.
   Please continue to send black fly reports even before they appear or after they disappear at your locality.  This helps give a more complete picture of their presence in Maine.  
   It's easy and fun to participate.  E-mail a short message, including: Day, date. Location and Maine Atlas Map number. Black fly severity (on a scale of 1 to 3:  1=none or few; 2=some, but tolerable; 3=many, a royal pain). Your initials.  Example:
  Sunday, May 27.  Orono (Map 23) Black fly level = 2.  F.W.

E-mail to:
Frank Wihbey, Editor : menature@maine.edu
The reports will be compiled as colored dots on a map of the state, generally each Tuesday evening.

From the Press

Bug season likely to be aggravating despite dry spring
By Brenda Seekins, Of the NEWS Staff

Bangor Daily News Monday, May 14, 2001, pages B1-B4

PITTSFIELD - Mosquitoes and black flies hatch in water.  Does the lack of spring rain and dry conditions across the state mean there will be fewer of the pests this year?  Not likely, said Jim Dill, entomologist with the University of Maine.  "If [dry conditions] cut the population in half, say from 2 million to 1 million, would you really notice?" Dill asked. It's still early in the season to make any predictions, Dill added. 

Black flies hatch in running water. Mosquitoes hatch in still, often stagnant, water, he explained. While humans may be enjoying warmer than expected temperatures for May, water temperatures have not caught up yet. Ice out on many lakes and streams was just weeks ago and water temperatures remain low.   Traditionally, the flying pests that plague the work and leisure activities of Mainers in spring and summer don't begin to hatch out until the third or fourth week in May.  The larvae from the flying irritants were laid last year. In the case of black flies, for the dry spring to have an effect on this year's hatch, year-round streams would have to be dry, Dill said.

There may be fewer puddles and woodland pools for mosquitoes to breed, but "never fear, there seems to be enough of them around," he said. And even if the spring's dry conditions had a small effect on the insect population, "they have a way of rebounding," he said.  Persistence can pay off in short order. Mosquitoes can increase 10-fold in a two- to three-week period, depending on the species, he explained.  "You would almost need a crystal ball to predict this sort of thing," he said. "These guys - whoops - girls are resilient."  The females of the flying crowd are responsible for the breeding and the biting, he said. "They need that blood supply."

If the population of one species should falter, never fear, it isn't the end of the life form. There are, after all, about 40 different species of black flies in Maine, and about 20 different types of mosquitoes.  "We're not expecting a major catastrophe," he said of the approaching bug season. "We can expect it to be pretty normal."

And the black fly watch is on.  At www.mainenature.org, black fly sightings are posted weekly. At present, Frank Wihbey, editor of the Maine Nature News, reports the black fly population across the state is "light to none." Depending on volunteers, Wihbey expects to post updates in the coming weeks to increase the sightings to "moderate" and eventually to the top rating of "royal pain." The sightings are helpfully plotted on a Maine map for comparison with your friends and relatives across the state.

For mosquito information, visit www.mosquito.org of the American Mosquito Control Association or www.pestworld.org of the National Pest Management Association. Both sites offer scientific data about the breeding cycles of insects and suggested repellants - DEET remains the most effective - but there are also helpful hints aimed at cutting down the population in your area. The most effective means of control is to eliminate breeding areas by removing collection points for stagnant water - old tires, paint cans or buckets and yes, even ornamental pools. 

And we thought the dry spring had taken care of all that.