(All images Havana Police)

The Havana, Illinois police department says be careful on the bridge; it’s covered in bugs. As in– six inches deep with mud made of insect.


Police say the bugslop made of mayflies has bogged cars and crashed motorcycles.

I’ve ridden through some nasty mud holes, but man, I don’t know if I’d go hard-charging into this biblical bug invasion.


Mayflies, which are apparently a commonly occurring plague in the Great Lakes region, are basically water bugs that sprout wings and swarm before laying eggs and dying again. Hence their being on the bridge.

As the Havana Police posted on their Facebook page:

“Please use caution when driving across the bridge today. Last night there was an invasion of Mayflies that has caused the bridge to be very dangerous. At one point they had piled 6 inches high and when ran over, became very slick. There were already motorcycle accidents due to this and cars stuck in the center of the bridge. Again use Caution.” [sic]


For those that can’t avoid driving through mayfly swarms, Entomology Today says “Use windshield wipers sparingly. Smeared mayflies are just nasty,” and adds that the bugs can be bad enough to actually effect your stopping distance so be careful at intersections.

Tasty!


Hat tip to NBC 4!