One of the true great pleasures of living around lakes is the yearly arrival of what is known locally as the fishfly.

Unfortunately you can't hear the sarcasm in my voice as I typed that. While I know they're a sign the lake is healthy and the fish love them, they are a pain in the butt while they're coming out. For people who are extremely adverse to bugs landing on them (like my wife and daughter) they can be terrifying, for the rest of us  they make BBQing an impossibility (unless you like extra "seasoning") and driving a little more hazardous. I've seen roads become so covered with them that they become just like black ice in spots and cause accidents. In one particular instance in the town of North Bay, Ontario, I've seen them so thick on the sidewalks that they were using snow shovels to remove them. The smell wasn't real pleasant either.

Now these aren't really fishflies, but no one I know, except for fly fisherman, call them by their real name which is the mayfly or hexagenia. Mayflies in this area always seem to time their arrival for late June and hang around for any firework displays, providing extra "delight" for the squeamish by the lake. They come in waves and usually die in one or two days only to be replaced by another wave. They are attracted by light, or the color white, and can fly inland for more than a mile. They seem to have a special affinity for neon lights which probably makes business owners endlessly happy.

I just thought I'd share.... :)

For more than you ever wanted to know about mayflies, see Mayfly - wikipedia