Gnat cloud
Driving past Hawi Wind Farm, I unexpectedly ran into several clouds of gnats. I quickly rolled up the windows on my truck, not needing a cab full of gnats to influence my driving. Sometimes the clouds blended and made one big gathering, and I was reminded of murmurations of starlings, though perhaps not as dramatic.
It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this since I’ve lived here. The clouds are made up of male gnats hoping to snag a mate. The large numbers give them visibility so that the females can spot them. Of course, that doesn’t explain how the males can spot the individual females when they show up. Hmmm.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Unlikely.’
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Wow! Awesome!
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Thanks. It was pretty cool watching them.
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Oh wow…
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Who knew (gnew?) that gnats could be so interesting!
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Egads! Did you use a mask to breathe?
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No. If I stood still near them, then I’d eventually find myself getting engulfed and I beat a hasty retreat. But it was surprisingly easy to just walk past the edge of the cloud, a few feet away, and not be bothered by them.
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