The ferocious flying black fly fleet of Maine

The state bird of Maine is the black-capped chickadee, but it really, really should be the black fly.

I am not talking your average, run-of-the-mill annoying housefly here, partner. I am talking a swarming, diving, ravenous fleet of which there is no parallel and no match. A squadron of Maine black fly has been known to carry off farm animals and lay waste to whole communities. I kid you not.

I have long advocated that the Federal Aviation Administration require the Maine black fly to paint indentifying N numbers on the sides of their bodies.

And file flight plans.

As I have told my California friends for years, I grew up in the Deep Dark North Woods of Maine. To get there required trains, stage coaches, dog sleds and numerous portages. And in that wilderness I lost more than a pint of blood to those flying piranha.

Anyway, in seeking out other blogs about Maine, I came across the website for the Maine Blackfly Breeders Association. The group’s motto apparently is “We breed ’em, you feed ’em.” Or it may be “May the swarm be with you.” The group seems to have more than one motto.

The members of the Maine Blackfly Breeders Association – MBBA to those in the black-fly know – are quite serious about what they do. They have activities, legislation, a song, an online store and an annual convention. Yep, they have an annual convention. They have had 11 of them so far, with the most recent back in February. And the notice promised it was “going to be a fun beat-the-winter-blues, crowd-pleasing time.”

I am sorry I missed it.