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Illustration by Jerry
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Warding off predators
By John Washburn
We humans are accustomed to our place at the
top of the food chain. Nobody eats us, right? Wrong. Those intrepid
souls who venture forth in the Adirondacks during May and June are
likely to find themselves near the bottom of the food chain. That
alarming state of affairs is due to the dietary preferences of certain
species of Diptera simuliidae, the villainous black fly.
And from our perspective he is a villain indeed. Or I should say,
more correctly, she is a villain, for it is the female of the species
who has the blood appetite. She requires blood as a protein source
for the thousands of eggs she will lay in her short adult lifetime.
The males merely sip nectar and pollinate flowers. In fact, the
male black fly has a jawless mouth that is incapable of biting anything.
The female, however, will attack almost any unprotected flesh, and
is fond of sneaking up pant legs and sleeves. But the most annoying
habit of the black fly is to hover erratically in front of one’s
face in overwhelming numbers. They can’t be ignored, but they
can, at least fleetingly, be brushed aside.
Many Adirondackers have developed the simple defense of raising
one elbow to shoulder level and rapidly raising and lowering the
attached hand in front of their faces. This gesture has come to
be called “The Adirondack Wave.” It has created the
impression among thousands of passing motorists that we are an extremely
friendly and outgoing people.
The weakness of the wave as a defense is that while you are frantically
batting away at the flies swarming around your face, others will
sneak up behind you and attack the back of your neck. I have often
speculated that it is the males who perform this frontal diversion,
some even sacrificing their lives, so the females may eat and procreate
in safety. (I can’t verify this theory, though, as it’s
impossible to determine the gender of the little beasts.)
Here are some other useful defenses that will help get you through
an Adirondack spring with most of your hemoglobin intact.
The Active Defense: Thanks to our legendary backwoods
resourcefulness, the Adirondack Wave has already been improved upon.
I have frequently observed locals enjoying their spring road walks
at the height of the black fly season. In one hand they carry a
simple weapon fashioned from the terminal limb of a white-pine tree.
A twig of 18 inches or so, with its five-needle leaf clusters still
attached, is used as an extension of the hand in executing the wave.
Instead of brushing away dozens of black flies, one sweep of the
pine branch will dispel hundreds.
The Passive Defense: Certain sartorial adjustments
will make us more inaccessible to this predator. Hats are a must
on buggy days, as are long sleeves and pant legs. Headnets carry
protection a step farther. These devices are especially favored
by such relatively inert types as gardeners and fishermen. While
the pests can bite through cotton, experience has shown that nylon
is an effective barrier. A nylon headnet, even in contact with the
skin, is armor against the ravenous hordes.
The Containment Defense: I made an interesting
discovery a few years back while portaging between Forked and Raquette
lakes. The black flies were driving me crazy as my hands were full
of canoe and not available to do the Adirondack Wave. The portage
trail crossed a dirt road, at which point there was, of all things,
a phone booth. I decided then and there to call my wife, so I put
the canoe down and stepped into the booth.
I was, of course, accompanied by several score black flies. But
as soon as I closed the door, they all abandoned me. They flew to
the windows and proceeded to pace back and forth, up and down, and
around in circles. I later discovered the same thing happens in
an automobile, or inside a house. They go to the windows and just
walk around!
Unfortunately, this does not usually provide a viable defense for
the intrepid outdoorsman, due to the shortage of such safe havens
in the wilderness. But it’s comforting to note that the flies
will act the same way if accidentally trapped inside your headnet.
The Chemical Defense: Besides making ourselves
inaccessible to the jaws that bite, we can also make ourselves repulsive.
There are several reasonably effective insect repellents on the
market, my favorite being Ole Time Woodsman. There are also those
who claim that consuming large quantities of garlic will repel the
little bloodsuckers, much as it allegedly wards off vampires, a
distant cousin of the black fly. (It may also repel other people,
but there’s a trade-off in everything.)
The Pneumatic Defense: Another effective deterrent
is the wind. On a breezy day you can ignore the headnets and lotions.
Even a fairly light breeze will blow the tiny flies away and keep
them at bay. So seek the open spaces where the air moves most.
The Thermal Defense: I have also noticed that the
black fly operates within a fairly narrow window of temperature
and humidity. They don’t seem to be active when the temperature
falls below 65 or 70 degrees or on a dry day with the temperature
much above 80. On a relatively cool day the black fly prefers sunshine
to shade. On warmer days, the reverse is true. I recall one time
watching the flies swarm around my companions who were standing
in the shade, as I stood unmolested in a sunny spot.
The Devious Defense: This works best when the flies
are hyperactive. But it will only work if you do not tell your companions
about it. Black flies prefer slow or stationary targets. Your best
strategy, therefore, is to identify the slowest-moving person in
your group. Then casually (but briskly) pass by this individual,
in as close proximity as possible without arousing suspicion. If
skillfully executed, this maneuver will slough off up to 90% of
your flies onto your slower and less wary companion. This is a strong
argument for using the buddy system in the woods, provided that
your buddy is slower than you are. This same principle applies when
you are traveling in grizzly bear country out West.
Now you know all you need to know about how to out-fox the black
fly and enjoy our otherwise glorious Adirondack springtime to the
fullest.
John Washburn and his Adirondack forebearers
have been coping with black flies for five generations. |
