It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a massive swarm of dragonflies?!
Weather radars in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are registering what, at first glance, appear to be late-summer rain showers.
But look closer and you’ll find that those bright green blotches are actually mobs of insects.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland last week reported the mass migrations, which look like pulsing storm clouds over the east coast. Similar reports also surfaced in southwest Virginia.
Around 6:30 pm in Southern Ohio pic.twitter.com/lenWiSgMUP
— Debbie (@debraclearhills) September 11, 2019
— Nicky (@Nicky62058021) September 11, 2019
— AmyLAllen (@Itsamylallen) September 11, 2019
Dragonflies eating smaller insects and flying through my sprinkler tonight near Troy Ohio pic.twitter.com/T4XSn1vere
— Christine pence (@pence_christine) September 11, 2019
I saw them flying around my house in Gore VA yesterday after a brief thunderstorm. It was amazing to watch. pic.twitter.com/P84M5xLDxb
— Audrey Gleske (@AudreyGleske) September 12, 2019
Add VA to the list! pic.twitter.com/vfFeFudley
— Vicky Michael (@VickyMi85817174) September 12, 2019
“Around sunrise and sunset, warmer air above us tends to bend the radar beam down toward the ground,” Roanoke-based meteorologist Chris Michaels explained. “This can oftentimes detect wildlife or just overall clutter.”
This is not a sign of the impending apocalypse.
In fact, it is completely normal behavior, according to Ohio State University entomologist Norman Johnson, who said the dragonflies are likely Green Darners, which migrate south in the fall.
The insects don’t usually travel in flocks, he told CNN, but local weather conditions can cause them to “bunch up.”
“The big swarms have been recorded a lot over the years, but they’re not regular,” Johnson said.
Details of dragonfly migration are still unclear; researchers have found the winged creatures travel an average of 8 miles per day, but can fly as far as 86 miles.
The hordes were also spotted in Maryland and New Jersey.
Cape May, NJ tonight! It was so amazing to see!!! pic.twitter.com/CjHtY7oumL
— Shawn Darr (@ShawnDarr3) September 13, 2019
Saw them in Hagerstown Maryland today pic.twitter.com/aysi5spANg
— TerrieAnn McKoy (@tamckoy) September 12, 2019
This isn’t the first insect invasion of 2019, though.
In June, the National Weather Service’s radar in San Diego picked up a giant crush of ladybugs—roughly 80 miles by 80 miles—over southern California.
Less than a month later, residents of northeastern Ohio found themselves battling invasive mayflies, which covered cars, houses, and lampposts across Cleveland, Sandusky, and other areas.
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Source: https://www.geek.com/news/epic-dragonfly-swarms-appear-on-weather-radars-in-3-states-1804056/?source
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Stephanie Mlot
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