Mayflies Swarm Into Hastings For Annual Infestation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Mayflies have once again invaded the city of Hastings, causing headaches for many.
Each summer the bugs lay their eggs in the Mississippi River and then swarm to mate with each other. The infestation only last a couple of days, but what is left behind can cause major problems.
It's hard to walk in downtown Hastings without stepping on dead mayflies.
"It's messy, its gross," said Lee Stoffel, communications coordinator for the city of Hastings.
People who call this historic river town home say it's an annual event.
"They are here in an instant and gone a couple of days later," Stoffel said.
Stoffel said the flies die quickly, leaving millions covering sidewalks, buildings and lampposts.
"They are attracted to light, and they are most active at dawn and dusk," Stoffel said.
Entomologists, scientists who study insects, say it's hard to predict when the flies will invade and how big the hatch will be.
Stoffel said the city of Hastings wants to make their stay as short as possible, so they take away what attracts them.
"Every year when we start noticing them coming up, we turn the lights off on our bridge -- that is the Highway 61 bridge -- and in our downtown area, just to try and minimize them swarming," Stoffel said.
In 2012, it was a bad year. A bumper hatch. Millions of mayflies piled up on the Highway 61 bridge, causing slick conditions and two vehicles to crash.
"They were so thick on the bridge -- it was about two to three inches thick -- they actually brought in snow plows to clear them off the road, " Stoffel said.
This year, the infestation is considered light, unless you have to clean up.
"It's just a never-ending job," Keenan Kenimer said.
Kenimer said it takes days to sweep away the mess. But he adds it's just a part of living in a river town.
Records show 1959 was the worst year for mayfly infestation in Hastings.
There is one good fact about mayflies: Entomologists say a swarm means the river where they hatched, the Mississippi, is healthy.
