Black Fly Report – May 9
I expected a lot more reports this week but it looks like we’ve been given a break. I’m sure it won’t last but for now, it’s very nice. I spent four hours outside without black flies today.
Lincolnville. 3. I went out on the deck to enjoy my coffee and before two steps they were IN my coffee.
Mount Vernon. 1 After the mild winter and early spring, I expected them to be worse sooner than this. So far, I would say the black foes are light or none. I noticed some a week back, when I was working in the garden. But the black flies have not been noticeable more recently. Presumably they are waiting for Mother’s Day to swarm.
Argyle (Map 33) 1
Talmadge (Map 45) 1
Molunkus (Map 44)
May 12, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Black Fly Report – May 3
The weekend is coming. How are the black flies in your area? On a scale of 1 to 3, please rate these biting menaces and let us know where they are. Please include the map number from the Gazetteer if you know it. It makes compiling the report into a map a lot easier for me and helps people find it in the Gazetteer. Please send your report to me via email or leave a comment below.
2012 Black Fly Report
It’s that time of year. The black flies are out and they’re biting. I’m going to try something new this year. You can email reports to me or you can leave your report in the comment section. I’ll close the report at the beginning of each week, open a new one, and create the traditional map.
Black Fly Report – June 10, 2011
There are only three reports this week. If you still have black flies please send a report! Thanks!
June 10, 2011
Black Fly Report – June 3, 2011
There are fewer black fly reports this week and most of the reports turned in are less severe than a week ago. Almost everyone credits the wind to the lack of or smaller amount of flies. Email your report to Robin. Comments are open at the bottom of this entry for updates during the week.
Black Fly Report – May 27, 2011
If you are going to spend time outside in Maine this Memorial Day weekend, and likely the entire month of June, you’ll want protection from black flies. Wind, rain and cool temps have kept them at bay but the weather is improving and the number of reports in the last two days is unusually high. Bug spray, light colored clothing and netted hats are great.
Enjoy the long weekend. And to our veterans, including my father, Robert Olesky, brother Rick Olesky, grandfather Leonard “Red” Woods, great grandfather John Veazie and several times great grandfather General Samual Veazie (I have a long list of veterans to be proud of!), Thank You!
Black Fly Report – May 20, 2011
The seemingly unending rain has helped to keep the black flies down but when they’re out, they are out in full force in most of the reports.
Quoddy Nature Notes – Spring Wrap Up
Here it is, June, so spring in the Quoddy region is essentially over. Now is the time to take a deep breath, stand back a bit from the clutter of ongoing projects, both physical and mental, and wonder, “What happened?”
Our spring arrived early this year, and the leaves and flowers followed suit. The amphibian walks suggested to me that this generation of wood frogs would be less than normal. Although they started early, the calling season was short and the egg mass numbers were low. The successful wood frog tadpoles have already left their ponds. Toad numbers seem to be normal as they typically call for about a week; peepers have only a few romantic stragglers still calling, and the gray tree frogs are gearing up. Spotted salamanders eggs were common, but a high percentage of the eggs seem to be non-viable. Fortunately, these guys live for upwards of thirty years, so most will be able to try again next year. Turtles are out looking for good nesting sites and are currently being spotted on the roads. It is sometimes tricky to determine which direction they are going, but try to carefully get them out of the way of traffic. The Painted turtle will usually get off the road with a little coaxing but if you have to pick it up remember they have a tendency to pee on anyone that handles them. Snapping turtles are more obstinate and often get pretty defensive when you try to help them. I usually put a hat over the snapping end and carry them to the roadside where I thought they were headed, but be careful. Don’t carry turtles by their tail, as this could result in injuries that may be fatal. Snakes can usually be coaxed off the road with no handling, but if you come upon a big watersnake in the Big Lake/Pocomoonshine area, remember these guys, while not poisonous, can give you a memorable chomp. All reptiles, dead or alive and everywhere in between, are potential carriers of Salmonella, so use caution. I’m interested in all of these critters, especially the big ones.
It looks like we will have a good crop of slugs, but the black flies, in the too few times that I have been out checking, have not been particularly hungry. The bigger maneaters: deerflies, mooseflies and horseflies, are just starting to show. We have had a couple of minor ant hatches but have not yet been inundated with them. Carpenter ants consider log homes, especially those off in the woods, as their favorite gingerbread house, so we must be ever alert. This spring has been a much more productive period for the Maine Butterfly Survey, as the Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, Sulphurs and others are showing up in good numbers. If you want to learn about the dragonflies that are making their appearances now, Dr. Ron Butler, Professor of Ecology at UMF, will be giving a course about the local Odonata at the Humboldt Field Research Institute from July 4th to July 10th. On an expected but sad note in regards to insects, Emily passed away a couple of weeks ago. A quiet spinster she never complained and when I put her weekly ration of half an apple core and sometimes an over ripe grape in her Coolwhip mansion her antennae seemed to quiver with anticipation.
Our raven family with their two noisy brats have left. They will probably be back periodically to check out the stump where I leave the table scraps in the morning. I don’t mind the ravens and bluejays and even the skunks but the raccoons are an intelligent nuisance, and can get into lots of mischief. The robin family living on the ledge on the barn is still incubating, and no little heads are looking up yet. There are lots of robins around this year. The bobolinks are also more numerous, but there are fewer kestrels. The hummingbirds arrived a week late, but are making up for lost time, and so far we’ve had to rescue three of them when I’ve inadvertently left a door open in the barn.
So that’s the news from South Pembroke, where all the critters are well behaved. If you believe that I’ve got a bridge to Campobello I can sell you, complete with a Homeland Security facility.
Black Fly Reports
Send reports here.
South Paris (Map 10), level 1. When the breeze stops they swarm.
Great Pond (Map 34), level 2.
Talmadge (Map 45), level 2. The wind has kept them away for most of the last week but they’re a 2 when they’re here.
Black Fly Reports
I’m working out the black fly report in the new format. April’s a bit early, they could have been considerate and given me (and everyone else!) more time. The first report is a full week earlier than last year, and last year’s first report was two full weeks earlier than the year before. Here are the current reports. I’ll get the on the map, post the map and create a new page for the reports. If you have a WordPress account you can post them automatically. I’ll gather them and put them on the map. ~Robin
Email reports here.
Rate the severity of black flies at locations in Maine where you reside or visit. The scale is 1 to 3:
1 = none or few,
2 = some, but tolerable
3 = many, a royal pain.
Don’t forget to report a level of “1″ before the flies start in earnest and keep up the reports after the flies have disappeared, since an observation of “1″ is just as useful and valid scientifically, as reports of “2″ or “3″. Please include the name and the Maine Atlas map number(if you know them) of the locality or localities you are reporting for.
Hartford (Map 11) level 2
Cushing, (Map 
level 3
Thomaston (Map Level 1
Rockland (Map 14) level 1
