Not here, this side of the town doesn't get them too bad. I think they are absolutely disgusting. I hate shadflies, I think they're gross. Even though they don't like even have mouths or-whatever they just like come and die. I just don't like the smell, I don't like the crunch, I don't like- (laughs) I don't like any of it

The people would have to like shovel the parking lot because it was like slush. It was like snow because there were so many shadflies. They gross me out a lot. I really don't like them.

And- and the nice thing about the shadflies is they're a sign of summer and they're a sign that the ecology is as healthy as we can hope it to be in this era and, the lakes are healthy and I-mean we're so blessed when you, you-know you look around the lakes at the beaches and the water.

Interviewer: Is there anything that you don't like about living here? Speaker: Shadflies? (laughs) But even those are tolerable. Interviewer: Right. I-- I-mean even then I mean shadflies are North-Bay identity. Speaker: Exactly. Exactly. I- I guess I'd have to, um, hm, no, no, if my husband were here he'd say "The winters", um, not that he doesn't like them but that I complain about them. I complain about the winters, the cold, the snow, the length of the winters, but come on, we live in Northern-Ontario, we get to complain about the weather, right?

Ah, I really liked it. Other than Lake-Nippising kinda sucks because of the itch that it gets and the shadfly season, so- <1> So, did the shads come from the lake?

I-guess if these snails and these shadflies and all-that, so I-guess like the small- like the small micro-organisms would be the ones that would be unique. But none of the like birds or-anything are, I don't think.

Like they live for a really long time in the soil of the lake and then they come out and so like, anywhere near the water is just covered in shadflies. It's disgusting and so you can't go swimming for like, two weeks because there's dead shadfly bodies in the water and it's like- a curre-- oh, it's so gross. And you have to like wade through them to get out to like actual deep water, it-- so you just don't bother going swimming for like two weeks during shadfly season and then the itch comes- you get like one week grace period and then the itch comes.

Like they live for a really long time in the soil of the lake and then they come out and so like, anywhere near the water is just covered in shadflies. It's disgusting and so you can't go swimming for like, two weeks because there's dead shadfly bodies in the water and it's like- a curre-- oh, it's so gross. And you have to like wade through them to get out to like actual deep water, it-- so you just don't bother going swimming for like two weeks during shadfly-season and then the itch comes- you get like one week grace period and then the itch comes.

Speaker: Mm-hm, like if we leave any of our lights on or our house lights- like if we leave on the living-room lights o-- overnight or-anything, these windows are like, blanketed with shadflies. Yeah, we have like a power sprayer too, like a regular hose doesn't even l-- get them off (laughs). You have to have an intense one. Ah, so the shadfly season sucks. And there's lots of spiders but I don't have a problem with spiders.

I don't know. I'm sure- Lake-Nippising is unique so it's- I'm sure- like shadflies are unique 'cause Lake-Nippising is unique but it's sort-of pr-- it might be something to that extent.

But I can't remember what they're called. Yeah, shad- shadflies are awful, yuck. But if the lake didn't have shadflies the lake would be dead.

Speaker 1: Shadflies are the worst. Speaker 2: Like they're fun to step on. Interviewer: They are- they are (inc) Speaker 1: (whispering) Oh-god. They're fun to drive on. Speaker 2: Crunch, crunch. Interviewer: Well, I remember when they- Speaker 1: Have you ever almost got in a car crash from shadflies? Speaker 2: They're slippery.

Speaker: Millions of shadflies. Interviewer: Smell. Speaker: "Where do they come from?" They don't have mouths! Interviewer: But w-- what's neat about shadflies though is like, that's like a name that people in Northern-Ontario have for these bugs. But like, outside of Northern-Ontario- Speaker: Yeah, are they Mayflies? Interviewer: Like even in Souther-- yeah, like they'll- they'll call them Mayflies or- or they won't know what they're called. Speaker: I've heard them called mayflies, but everybody here calls them shadflies.

And people think you're crazy. I don't know if you ever get this but I got this when I went away to school and people would be like "Oh, you-know, what was North-Bay like?" and I'd try to describe what shadflies were, people would look at me like they didn't know what I was talking about and they're like "Shadflies?" and I'm like "Yeah, they're little bugs that kind of look like dragon-flies. They have no mouth. They only last for twenty-four hours," I'm like "You guys don't know what shadfly-season is?" (laughs).

Yeah, like to me a shadfly is just a- it's a shadfly, it's, you-know, they come every year and that, you-know, that's part of winter. And I think I thought it was all across Ontario. Like I never thought of it just specific to North-Bay.

Yeah at Trout-Lake. I don't go down to the water-front very often because of the shadflies. I don't like them (laugh) even though they don't mouths and they don't bite and-everything-like-that.

Fl-- shadflies or-something we always figured 'cause they die in it. I'm don't- I'm not sure. I'm not sure what it is but they still- you can get an itch out of the water.