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Posted May 25, 2006 EST
Swarm Of Bugs Catches Fire Crew By Surprise
Canada -
Lovesick bugs looking for mates sent Hamilton firefighters scrambling to battle a reported high-rise apartment fire recently. When two pumpers, ladder, rescue vehicle and a district chief rolled up in front of the building on Delawana Drive a week ago, they found the "smoke at the top floor" was a cloud of millions of insects swarming over one corner of the roof.
Fire safety officer John Verbeek says this could be a first for the fire department.
"I've never heard of a building fire call where it turned out to be a mass of insects."
Those insects, says Steven Marshall, professor of entomology at the University of Guelph, are midges. And people can mistake their swarms for smoke. And, he says, a cloud big enough to prompt 911 calls about a building fire is not unusual in April, May or June.
Midges like to swarm over prominent points, like trees, buildings and even people walking. They lay their eggs in water and larvae feed on aquatic material, producing swarms near lakes when the adults emerge.
Written by The Hamilton Spectator
