Troutnut Forum > Fly Hatch Talk > swarm sighting along Ohio River in Pittsburgh
This topic is about the Insect Order Ephemeroptera
Mayflies may be the most important insects for trout anglers to understand. They are famous outside the fly fishing world for their fragile beauty and short adult lifespan, usually a single day to mate and die. The mayfly's poignant drama attracts poets and fishermen alike, but fishermen make the most of it. Read more...
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The Discussion
| Cgrier | June 24th, 2007, 8:32 pm | |
| Posts: 1 | I witnessed what I think was a mayfly swarm along Ohio River Blvd in Pittsburgh on Thursday, June 21st at dusk. The insects created spinning columns that were about 30-80 feet high. There were about 150-200 of these columns for about 1/2 mile along the hillside just above the sewage treatment plant, and also above a stream that feeds into the Ohio. I have been searching but can't find any documentation that the swarming behavior occurs in this column pattern. Is anyone familiar with this? | |
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| Martinlf | June 25th, 2007, 11:50 am | |
| Palmyra PA Posts: 903 | It sounds like mating spinners to me. | |
| Louis Is it not an art to deceive a trout with an artificial fly? A trout! that is more sharp-sighted than any hawk . . . and more watchful and timorous than your high-mettled merlin is bold! --Izaak Walton The Compleat Angler | ||
| JOHNW | June 26th, 2007, 5:34 pm | |
| Chambersburg, PA Posts: 157 | I'll second Louis on the mating swarms. We get very similar occurances on the Susquehanna. Out of curiosity how big were these bugs? Are we talking Hummingbird or smaller? I know the Pittsburgh area sees some pretty dramatic Hexegenia hatches. They sort of bring Alfred Hitchcok's BIRDS to mind and I'm sure to head the other way. JW | |
| Angler by Genetics | ||
| Konchu | July 1st, 2007, 2:19 pm | |
| Indiana Posts: 199 | This thread reminded me of an old report of a mayfly swarm that I thought some might enjoy. "...a great swarm of ephemerids...passed through the town of Lewisburg, on the Susquehanna River, on the afternoon of the 22nd of August. The swarm was estimated to be about a mile in length by nearly a half mile in width, and was so dense as even to obscure passers by on the opposite side of the street." Gentry, TG. 1873. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, volume 25, 3rd series, page 350. | |
| Aaaa | September 26th, 2007, 11:33 am | |
| Posts: 1 | Just wanted to add that I saw a series of insect swarms a couple of days ago (late Sept). These were also tall spinning columns, near water in a line above a row of trees paralleling a highway. Also at dusk, temp about 80, and also just across the highway from a sewage treatment plant. I'd have guessed about 30 columns in view, each around 40 feet high. I didn't get close enough to tell what the insect might be, but bigger than a housefly. This is in Washington DC. | |
| Wbranch | March 14th, 2008, 10:40 pm | |
| Starlight PA Posts: 228 | Here is a picture of a little swarm. | |
| West Branch & main stem fly fisher for forty-two years. | ||
| Creno | March 15th, 2008, 10:56 am | |
| Centennial CO Posts: 33 | Folks from the east may already know of this but here is a link to an article about a big swarm. http://seagrant.psu.edu/publications/fs/Mayfly_12-2003.pdf | |
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