CLEVELAND — Midges have been a hot topic over the last few weeks.
Because there are a lot of them.
Inevitably, when the conversation turns to the annual mass of radar-popping flies, someone tells you, "Midges are a sign of a healthy lake."
But what exactly does that mean?
Dr. Curtis Young, a trained entomologist at Ohio State University, tells News 5, “They tend to be associated with cleaner water ... and the conditions or environmental conditions for their survival will increase with the better-quality water."
In other words, cleaner water means more midges.
Watch our interview with Young:
Midges make their appearance in Northeast Ohio as Lake Erie warms to 60 degrees. Their eggs are laid in water. They undergo a metamorphosis from an aquatic midge to the aerial adult midge.
"The back of the pupal skin breaks open, and the midge steps out onto the surface of the water, dries off and then can fly away," said Young.
While our pesky friends may be an inconvenience to some, Young said they’re a good source of food for bats, birds and even small fish, which helps our environment.
“The lake is just now getting to that 60-degree temperature; it’s bringing them all together at the same time for a mass emergence in the spring,” said Young.
The closer you are to the lake, the more likely you are to encounter them, like these AC/DC fans would during the band's recent stop in Cleveland at Huntington Bank Field:
