TOLEDO, Ohio — It all begins at the bottom of Lake Erie.
Over the winter, mayflies nest and then hatch once the lake warms up, often covering most of the shoreline.
Dr. Bill Hintz, associate professor for the University of Toledo's Department of Environmental Science, says mayflies play an important role in the health of our water.
"Obviously they can be a nuisance when you know they get caught up near cars and lamp-posts and windows and things like that and they kind of go 'crunch crunch crunch' under your feet," Hintz said. "But this phenomenon is critically important to the Lake Erie ecosystem."
He says part of this importance is due to the direct connection that the land and lake have.
"So what we call this in ecology or environmental science is an aquatic-terrestrial linkage," Hintz said. "And so, everything in the water is linked to the land, and the land is linked to the water."
Which means mayflies tell a larger story.
"This mayfly hatch can be an indicator of how healthy those connections are in the terrestrial and the aquatic environment in Lake Erie," said Hintz.
Nick Ort has lived in the area since 1959. He says the mayflies are just a normal part of the changing seasons.
"It's kind of a right of passage every year in the summertime. Along with the cotton seed and everything else out here that goes on," Ort said. "I think the upside is, they say it's a sign of a healthy lake, and I can go for that. "
Dr. Hintz says mayflies live, at most, 72 hours. Many of them end up dead in piles and that means it takes some creativity to clean up.
"Get your brooms, get your shovels, get your vacuums out," Hintz said.
Ort says it's best to make plans to do what you can to keep them away.
"Turn your lights off, you know, keep your lights down," Ort said. "And that's about all you can do."
Or just realize they're a part of life by the lake.
"As soon as they tell me the mayflies got much more protein than the eggs in the morning, I'll probably start eating a few," Ort said.
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