Sure. they're annoying, but black flies and other insects can tell you a lot about the health of our water bodies.
Welcome to this week�s edition of Something Wild. I�m Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
If you have been outside lately, you�ve probably noticed that the insects have emerged � and are rather hungry. Yes, black flies and mosquitoes are an unavoidable fact of life in New Hampshire. But I�d like to try to persuade you that even the peskiest of bugs have their silver lining.
You see, insects are great indicators of the health of our surrounding environment. For example, those little winged vampires known as black flies only thrive in places with clean running water. The purer the rivers, streams, and brooks around you, the more black flies you will have. And mosquitoes provide food for lots of birds and fish. Try to remember this the next time you find yet another itchy red welt on your neck.
Scientists even survey the insect populations of larger water bodies to find out how healthy it is. For example, a local volunteer group sets out traps at 11 sites each summer to collect aquatic insects along the Upper Merrimack River.
They then spend the winters sorting and identifying their catch. The data collected during these �Bug Nights� as they are called, helps the state keep tabs on this important river.
The Bug Night folks look in particular for three types of insects � stoneflies, caddis flies, and mayflies. That�s because their larvae are super sensitive and will not survive if the river is polluted. So far, all of these species have shown up in every site sampled in the Upper Merrimack for the past nine years.
See � insects can tell us that all the buffer zones, pollution controls, and water treatment regulations are indeed having a very positive impact. After all, it wasn�t that long ago that the Merrimack River was so polluted that it used to catch fire.
So repeat after me � Bugs are good. Bugs are useful. Bugs are our friends!
Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
For Something Wild, I�m Rosemary Conroy.
