Far too many dead flies are on the wall at AU
Alfred locals that are able to escape outdoor critters, such as skunks and crows, are often faced by a greater nuisance indoors: flies, and lots of them.
At AU this problem can be observed best in buildings such as the Miller Performance Arts Center, or McLane Physical Education Center where piles of dead and dying flies cover the gym floor, according to AU Junior Danielle Cooper, a women’s basketball team member.
“We run over hundreds of dead flies almost every practice,” she said.
Though flies may have always been in Alfred, there seems to be more than usual this semester, according to many AU community members.
Not long ago a student would have been able to practice the piano in Miller without hearing flies buzzing around. Today in Miller, in the larger practice rooms, it is almost guaranteed that not only will several flies be bumping against windows, dozens more will be dead or dying on windowsills and floors.
According to Professor of Biology Gordon Godshalk, if people think that the problem is bad today, they should have been here 20 years ago. He remembers working on his house many years back and encountering thousands of flies under a single sheet of tarp paper.
If whacky weather conditions are not enough to drive Alfred residents crazy, the abundance of flies is helping the process along. Locals want to know why these flies are here and it seems that the weather may be the blame.
These are not regular houseflies; they are most likely cluster flies, according to Godshalk. Cluster flies are parasites of earthworms, and earthworms thrive in moisture. Since this past summer had more rain than usual there were more earthworms. The result: a cluster fly invasion.
An adult cluster fly is roughly a little bit bigger than a regular housefly. According to Bugclinic.com, they tend to be way more sluggish and they are most common in the northern parts of the United States. They are appropriately named because they are usually found “clustering” around windows and warm places.
Cluster flies may be many things, but they are definitely not harmful, said Godshalk.
“There’s no reason to get rid of them- they pose no health threat,” said Godshalk.
AU Carillonneur Laurel Buckwalter, who teaches piano in Miller, agrees with Godshalk. She says that some years ladybugs seem to invade, and other years it’s flies.
“They’re just annoying, you learn to deal with them,” she said.
