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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts
Initially Posted - 05/01/2004 :  16:24:35  Show Profile
Don't know what they are,no one here does, but the boats in the marina are awash in them. I've never seen them around the bay in the seventy plus years that I've been here. They don't seem to be interested in flying about or biting, they just get out of the breeze and poop. That's right POOP. Little black star shaped poops about the size of poppy seeds and they don't wash away. The proprietors reaction to the poops is "oh great and we're detailing boats now". At first sight one would suspect mosquitoes but though they have the appearance of mosquitoes they have no proboscis. Tried to research such things on the internet but with little success, every mosquito catalogued looked just like them, but not quite. They are approx. 5/8" and slender with wings.
Any ideas?????

Val on Calista # 3936
Val Bisagni]
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 05/01/2004 :  18:48:55  Show Profile
Some variation of the Mayfly. Google that and see if you get any clues. I wonder if the "poops" are actually eggs, since I don't think the adults eat anything. Omelettes, anyone?
Edited by - Dave Bristle on 05/01/2004 21:24:01
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oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts
Response Posted - 05/01/2004 :  21:58:07  Show Profile
I keep Silver Girl in Great Kills Harbor, Staten Island NY and one year we were invaded by hundreds of thousands of purple martins who regularly flew over the slips and hung around for nearly two weeks.

Bombs away, the mess was incredible.
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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts
Response Posted - 05/02/2004 :  10:40:27  Show Profile
Dave, they don't look like a Mayfly. That size but mosquito like.

Old salt, the martins are working overtime but we would need a cloud of them to clean up this invasion.

I'll run around to other marinas today to see if they're infested as well.

Contacted Cornell coop service but no reply yet.


Thanks
Val on Calista # 3936
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Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1772 Posts
Response Posted - 05/02/2004 :  11:22:59  Show Profile
<font color="blue">... they don't look like a Mayfly. That size but mosquito like. - Val</font id="blue">

Hi Val,

I don't know if they can live in the cold north, but in Texas we have a critter called a "crane fly." They look like huge mosquitos, but they don't bite. In fact, down here many people jokingly refer to them as "Texas mosquitos." They get quite a bit bigger than 5/8", so I don't know if this is your bug or not ... here's a photo:



What do you think?
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sailgal
Captain

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USA
400 Posts
Response Posted - 05/02/2004 :  13:07:59  Show Profile
Bright side.....they don't bite!!
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oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts
Response Posted - 05/02/2004 :  16:49:53  Show Profile
I'll take the mystery bugs over the purple martins any day. All the boats in my marina were covered with guano which was incredibly hard to remove, and it went on for about two weeks. For some reason purple martin poop is unbelievably hard to remove.

Fortunately the swarm of martins has only happened once in the nine years I've been at Great Kills.
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 05/02/2004 :  19:32:23  Show Profile
Val: How 'bout a termite swarm? Keep working on it--we need to be prepared over here on the CT shore.
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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts
Response Posted - 05/03/2004 :  09:42:12  Show Profile
NAW not a Texas mosquito too large( up here we call them out-house mosquitoes) and not a termite swarm. Termites have wasp like segmented bodies, but your suggestion that the black star poops might be eggs seems to be a definite possibility. The poops are gone and embryo like gelatinous sacks remain. They wash away easily.

On the bright side is that their numbers are greatly reduced possibly due to the arrival yesterday of a large flock of barn swallows.

I checked several marina's to the west of here and there were none to be seen.

Perhaps Cornell has an answer.

Val on Calista # 3936
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.