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07-24-2015, 05:31 PM
“I’ve lived in Sabula since ’75. I’ve never seen that many before, ever.”
So said Teena Franzen of Sabula, Iowa, in describing a mayfly swarm so thick that the Iowa Department of Transportation had to shut down a bridge over the Mississippi River last weekend, until a snowplow could be brought in to clear off the piles of bugs. It's hatching season for the mayflies, also known as shadflies.
Stephen Thayer, a reserve officer with the Sabula Police Department, told WQAD that the bugs "were probably piled knee high (http://wqad.com/2015/07/22/mayflies-force-shutdown-of-savanna-sabula-bridge/)" in front of the cars, likely attracted by the vehicles' headlights. The cars were temporarily stuck waiting for the plow.
A YouTube video, filmed from inside a police car, captures the sheer number of mayflies (https://youtu.be/QGbTl5ZFZ5Q), as the view through the vehicle's windshield is completely obscured by the insects:
"You might want to get the [Department of Transportation] out here," the officer says in the video. "The shadflies -- it's like ice on this bridge."
As he opens the car door, venturing into the swarm for a closer look, the flies pour inside (https://youtu.be/QGbTl5ZFZ5Q). A passenger exclaims in disgust, "Ohhh, hurry!"
"Oh. My. God," she says, "Jesus, bejesus."
In a Facebook post, Dick Banowetz of the Department of Transportation said the flies were ankle deep across the bridge (https://www.facebook.com/iowadot/posts/921297724583903) itself. After the plows moved the insects, the crews put down sand so motorists could gain some traction.
In 2014, a mayfly hatch along the Mississippi River (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2014/07/23/mayfly-hatch-wisconsin-photos-radar_n_5614449.html) in western Wisconsin was so large that the swarm appeared on the radar like a "significant rain storm" at altitudes as high as 2,500 feet:
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/Mayfly_Emergence_2014.gif
That earlier swarm was blamed for a three-vehicle crash that injured two people.
See photos from Wisconsin's 2014 mayfly hatch below:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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So said Teena Franzen of Sabula, Iowa, in describing a mayfly swarm so thick that the Iowa Department of Transportation had to shut down a bridge over the Mississippi River last weekend, until a snowplow could be brought in to clear off the piles of bugs. It's hatching season for the mayflies, also known as shadflies.
Stephen Thayer, a reserve officer with the Sabula Police Department, told WQAD that the bugs "were probably piled knee high (http://wqad.com/2015/07/22/mayflies-force-shutdown-of-savanna-sabula-bridge/)" in front of the cars, likely attracted by the vehicles' headlights. The cars were temporarily stuck waiting for the plow.
A YouTube video, filmed from inside a police car, captures the sheer number of mayflies (https://youtu.be/QGbTl5ZFZ5Q), as the view through the vehicle's windshield is completely obscured by the insects:
"You might want to get the [Department of Transportation] out here," the officer says in the video. "The shadflies -- it's like ice on this bridge."
As he opens the car door, venturing into the swarm for a closer look, the flies pour inside (https://youtu.be/QGbTl5ZFZ5Q). A passenger exclaims in disgust, "Ohhh, hurry!"
"Oh. My. God," she says, "Jesus, bejesus."
In a Facebook post, Dick Banowetz of the Department of Transportation said the flies were ankle deep across the bridge (https://www.facebook.com/iowadot/posts/921297724583903) itself. After the plows moved the insects, the crews put down sand so motorists could gain some traction.
In 2014, a mayfly hatch along the Mississippi River (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2014/07/23/mayfly-hatch-wisconsin-photos-radar_n_5614449.html) in western Wisconsin was so large that the swarm appeared on the radar like a "significant rain storm" at altitudes as high as 2,500 feet:
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/Mayfly_Emergence_2014.gif
That earlier swarm was blamed for a three-vehicle crash that injured two people.
See photos from Wisconsin's 2014 mayfly hatch below:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/rc/1/rc.htm)
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http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/rc/3/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/rc/3/rc.htm)
http://da.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/a2.img (http://da.feedsportal.com/r/234566111867/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4869df3b/sc/7/a2.htm)
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