Mayflies invade Fairfield

Those dead bugs littering Fairfield sidewalks, front steps and windshields this morning are mayflies.

Steve McDowell of Fairfield Pest Control said their brief life cycle leaves only the task of getting rid of their remains.

?They only live a matter of minutes or maybe up to 72 hours,? said McDowell.

The return of the mayfly is actually a good thing. They need clean water to live in and spend up to three years as a naiad, or aquatic larva. There presence signals generally healthy water quality in rivers.

Closer to large rivers, swarms of the mating buggers can be attracted by streetlights and leave thousands of corpses to be cleaned from streets and sidewalks below.

?Fairfield?s current batch is actually pretty light,? said McDowell.

Their remains are generally found beneath streetlights and front porch lights. The males seize females in flight and die after mating. Females die after dropping thousands of eggs into water. Fish are the bug?s number one predator.

The flies have existed since before dinosaurs, more than 300 million years.

They don?t bite or sting. The adults don?t even have mouths and cannot eat. As larva, they eat algae.