Weird Bird Report

[Garnetcat5]

While sitting in traffic along hwy36 Thurs morning saw flocks of birds flying NW....made me feel better .... dolphin, did you remember to call their headquarters and tell them to head back hehehhehe

[arkess7]

thats funny

[Weatherfreak14]

Man I wonder where they were off too?

[gatorcane]

they are leaving the GOM because it has become hurricane-ridden, perhaps another on the way?

[timNms]

they are leaving the GOM because it has become hurricane-ridden, perhaps another on the way?

Don't EVEN go there

[MBismyPlayground]

It is so weird that you noticed this occurance. Last night I noticed several flock of geese around midnight or so. All flyinng in the normal v shape, honking loudly. The problem was, they were all flying NorthWest as well.
Weird to hear it happening in Texas,(the gulf) and the southern east coast as well. I noticed more today heading in that direction as well.
I thought they usually fly south........

[timNms]

What's weird around here is since Katrina, there aren't that many birds around. I'm not sure where they went or if they were lost in the storm. I do know we have love bugs like I've never seen before in my life! If any of you have ever seen the movie "Killer Bees", there is a scene in the movie where the bees have covered an entire house....well, the love bugs are like that here. The outside walls of houses and business are black with them. My white Taurus looks black and white during the day. We can't get ouside and do clean up work because the bugs swarm us...hard to breathe without being afraid you'll breathe one into your nose. There is a huge pile of them that I've killed with bug spray and swept off of my porch... they're EVERYWHERE LOL

[Starburst]

I saw geese of some sort of birds in a large v shape doing the same thing late this evening right before dark also flying north west. I wonder what is up? We usually see them all fly south.

[Wacahootaman]

The love bugs and skeeters are bad in north central Florida too!

[arkess7]

always remember SEPT and MAY....twice a year....those are the months the lovebugs come out....they are probably twice as bad for you guys on the gulf coast cause there aint enough birds to eat them or something?...poor birdies that got swept away from the canes.. ...the lovebugs are pretty bad here too.......but ive seen them 10 times worse....maybe they all got swept up there?

[timNms]

always remember SEPT and MAY....twice a year....those are the months the lovebugs come out....they are probably twice as bad for you guys on the gulf coast cause there aint enough birds to eat them or something?...poor birdies that got swept away from the canes.. ...the lovebugs are pretty bad here too.......but ive seen them 10 times worse....maybe they all got swept up there?

Actually, we're 90 miles inland

I don't know if they got blown in during the storm or if they just had a good time in May LOL...but they are awful.
Do birds actually eat those nasty smelling things? I don't recall seeing any birds eating them in May. Definitely aren't many birds around here now. Guess we can hope for an early frost to freeze the critters to death, or a hard winter to get rid of their eggs. Otherwise, we're going to be in for a lot more of them come next May.

[weathermom]

I had to google love bugs, cuz I didn't know what the heck you were talking about. Imagine my surprise when I saw a photo of a bug that is almost an exact match to one that I had never seen until after Floyd. I live in New Jersey, and in the early spring after Floyd came through these bugs were everywhere. In all of my years I had never seen ONE before this. They do come back in the spring now, but there have been very few ever since the first batch. I always wondered if they were something blown in with the storm somehow. We acquired these bugs and a new variety of weed, which is also dying back more each year. Now maybe I do believe that they came with the storm.

[timNms]

I had to google love bugs, cuz I didn't know what the heck you were talking about. Imagine my surprise when I saw a photo of a bug that is almost an exact match to one that I had never seen until after Floyd. I live in New Jersey, and in the early spring after Floyd came through these bugs were everywhere. In all of my years I had never seen ONE before this. They do come back in the spring now, but there have been very few ever since the first batch. I always wondered if they were something blown in with the storm somehow. We acquired these bugs and a new variety of weed, which is also dying back more each year. Now maybe I do believe that they came with the storm.

Forgot about you guys that aren't from the south not having a clue what we're talking about lol. Best way to describe them would be to say that the reason they have the name "love bugs" is because...well, they are mating..at least 99% of them are.

[artist]

interesting -

http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/luvbug.html


Love Bugs on the Move! Plecia nearctica




These lovable little dipterans (they aren't actually "bugs" despite their common name) spend 5-7 months of their lives as larvae in the leaf litter. The adults emerge synchronously twice a year (April-May and September - October) and can form large swarms that cloud the air. Many people don't realize that these flies are actually invaders from Central America and have been working their way northward along the coast. They have been spotted as far north as Wilmington, NC.

If you have spotted a mating pair of these flies please send me an email at the address below stating the time and place that you saw them. We are developing a database to track this invader's northward migration and can use your help!

If you are feeling very adventurous, and wish to help my research project even more, I am looking for collections of 30+ love bugs from all over the southeast. The flies can be preserved in ethanol, rubbing alcohol or even vodka (or moonshine) and put into a small jar (baby food jars work well, as do 35mm film canisters), sealed in a small ziploc bag, and mailed to me at the address below. We will be measuring the flies to determine if body size changes from south to north, as well as their DNA.

Also, I am always interested in good photos or video footage to put on my web site.

Dr. Timothy A. Mousseau
Dept of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208

tel: 803-777-8047, fax: 803-777-4002, email: mousseau@sc.edu



NEWS FLASH!!!





Massive Love Bug Outbreak Reported Across the South!!



I have received several hundred emails from folks from Texas to South Carolina reported unusually high numbers of love bugs this year. Jackson, MS, appears to have been particularly hard hit! I apologize for not responding individually to all emails. Based on past years, my impression is that love bug numbers are higher than usual because of a wetter than average summer in many places. In addition, Hurricane Katrina dropped a large amount of rain across a vast area in the south which I believe triggered a more synchronous than usual adult emergence, thus giving the impression of larger than normal numbers. Hopefully, this means they will die back quicker than usuals as well.





Love Bugs or Dark-Winged Fungus Gnats?!


Many folks from South Carolina (especially near Columbia) and parts of Georgia are reporting what appears to be a love bug. However, they may actually be dark-winged fungus gnats!

[arkess7]

Thanks artist very informative and that about sums it up!!