Where do fish flies come from??

[izzyindetroit]

This is the story of how the Great Manitou had punished disobedient children in days gone by. The spirit had condemned them to flit about in a circumscribed space as little winged insects and guarded by a stern old Manitou.

One day a little brother of these naughty children had resolved to go in search of them. He started out bravely, walked all day and towards night becoming exhausted, fell asleep beneath the leaves of the aspen tree. The spirit which is believed to inhabit it appeared to him and said : "Follow me and I will lead you to- your brothers and sisters." He awoke and found himself going up higher and higher until he reached cloud land. His guide then gave him a bow with a quiver full of arrows, and said : "Always shoot towards the north ; keep one arrow to return with ; as soon as you reach water throw some on your brothers and sisters and they will return to their natural shape, and the evil spirit will never be able to molest them again."

At each flight of a magic arrow a long, solitary streak of lightning appeared like a golden rent inthe sky, through which the child could catch, glimpses of the beauties hidden there. At last he saw where his brothers and sisters were confined and, aiming straight, soon opened the door to the imprisoned ones, who came through the golden crevice in the form of myriads of little insects- which flitted around him joyfully.

During his delight he forgot the injunction of the fairy and sent his arrow away from the north, when suddenly a distant sound like thunder was heard and a fearful voice full of majesty and passion, said : " Presumptuous one, for having dared to invade the kingdom of the Manitou, you shall be made an example to deter others from such profane ambition." He was turned into the heat lightning which is always seen on the northern skies on summer evenings. And the little insects, paralyzed by that dreadful voice, perished in one night. How frequently on a summer's night we see countless numbers of these insects, the familiar "June flies" of the Detroit, hanging to the lamp-posts, apparently dazed from some unknown cause, and strewing the sidewalks to be crushed under foot.

The Indian mother never whips her child, but always throws cold water in its face, thus punishing it and preventing its being changed into an insect or bug. -- An old tale recorded by Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin, 1883

[izzyindetroit]

[Hermod]

When i was a kid, we called them cisco flies for some reason. They used to be all over the window screens if you went up around New Baltimore, Fair Haven, and Algonac.

[Zacha341]

The seem to be more abundant on the east side, in areas not too far from the river. As close as the Ambassador Bridge water front they are less.

On Jefferson by Chene for example, you can see them all over the windows, crushed on the sidewalks... etc.

[jcole]

Growing up on the east side near 7 and Kelly we got tons of them and the closer to Lake Ste Claire that you got, the worse they were. They literally coated the sidewalks up near Mack and Moross and the sidewalks would be slippery to walk on.
The good thing is that they are a sign of healthy lake water and for a while they were not as abundant as in the 60's but seem to be making a big comeback.

[313WX]

They tend to move inland on a warm, moist, rainy days.

[compn]

i'll take the mayflies over a lot of other flying insects that plague other states. cockaroaches? mosquitos? locusts? giant africanized killer bees [[oh no!).

[rb336]

I remember when I was a kid, there was a HUGE cicada population. We went to the brookfield zoo, and the paths might as well have been paved with them. You could not take a step, literally, without stepping on them

[Scottathew]

Pure Michigan actually turns this little Fish Fly into a state attraction!

[rex]

da beach phaps

[mikefmich]

I remember going to the Esquire in GP to see Summer of '42, during the peak of fish fly season.

They were soo thick......my future wife slide right on her ass, like she stepped on a stick of butter.

Also recall front end loaders and dumps being used to scrape the streets of Algonac at those "special times".

[eastsidechris]

Where do fish flies come from?
You see, when a lady fish fly and a man fish fly love each other very much and decide to show their love for each other....