Muffleheads, bugs at Cedar Point?

I don't know what the yellow-green swarm was last year. I've never seen that before, but it was really bad. Steph didn't get to see them, and I didn't bring any home (to add to her collection already in the freezer).

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

They are there because of the lake. Anywhere along the lake you can usually find them.

This makes me wonder how many of these things die on Millennium Force everyday. The same with all the other coasters.

Speaking of coastermania, i was their and saw some coasterbuzz shirts their, but i wasn't part of the coastermania. That was pretty cool seeing some coasterbuzzers at the point, i would have said something but i was with my friend and he isn't an enthusiast but still enjoys coasters.

Duff, how about joining us next year? :)

As for the bugs, I can think of a lot worse! Wasps, Yellowjackets, Locusts....
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Brad Sherman
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer, helping to train new ride ops properly!
Model coasters and rides

Yeah It could be like Six Flags. At SFWOA it seems like they plant bees nests all around the park.

Underneath Magnum's station, the birds like to build nests! :) They even had a bird chirper that was supposed to scare them away, but it didn't work.

Magnum is also home to the meanest seagulls at the Point! :) There is a reason (other than safety) that we asked you not to stand on the yellow line! :) I got it three times last year! :(

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

I've never heard of Chironomids referred to as "muffleheads" before. If my memory serves me, Raptor is home to the most nourished seagulls, as there is often crap all over the track and supports.

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Ride the New England Bush!

*** This post was edited by Spacecase8310 on 6/13/2002. ***

I know exactly what you mean. Last year I was there you couldn't walk a step without walking into them. They were just everywhere! If you looked anywhere you would just see thousands of them. We left and we had hundreds of them on us. They were everywhere. This was in August 2001.

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-Sean Newman
83 coasters and soon to be more
Life is a roller coaster Ride It!

The evening sky a week ago looked hazy, or even as if there were smoke billowing from the ground...until you got up close and seen it was just a super-thick cloud of muffleheads...they were everywhere. Now? Pretty much gone...Thank goodness. They're not much fun to pick off your hat after test riding the shot side of PT.

Alan--PTC02

Jeff said:

I don't know what the yellow-green swarm was last year.

I remember reading that they were soybean aphids, but I can't confirm that.

The muffleheads are still here (as I can attest to after having several get into the car with me this morning ). I haven't seen any mayfiles this year, though.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini on 6/13/2002. ***

I really didn't find them to be that bad this year (mind you I was only there Friday). With the temperature dropping below 65 fairly early in the evening, they went dormant early that night and night rides were bug-free.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Saw on Ripley's last nite where a town started building birdhouses for purple martins so they would eat the town's swarms of mosquitoes. Wondering if a similar solution might work here.....there were so many folks walking around CP with bug *remains* on their clothes, it was amazing.

There are some martin houses scattered throughout the park. I'd have to believe it would be tough to control muffleheads, since they have such a short lifespan and lots of turnover.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

If you go golfing at Challenge Park at night, they are all over the place.

How big are these bugs?

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800,000 years in 7 seconds: Time Machine the movie or next S&S creation?

Have you seen MIB?
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Brad Sherman
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer, helping to train new ride ops properly!
Model coasters and rides

Arrow Guy said:
Have you seen MIB?

Haha! They aren't quite that large. ;) I'd say the midges at CP are about the length of a quarter (and that's HUGE for a midge).

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-Stephanie
Moderator and Wife to the self-contained Freak Show

RCmuzikGuY said:
How big are these bugs?
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800,000 years in 7 seconds: Time Machine the movie or next S&S creation?

They're the same size as misquitos. Actually they are the males and misquitos are the females. Luckily the males don't bite.

RllrCstrDude187 said:
They're the same size as misquitos. Actually they are the males and misquitos are the females. Luckily the males don't bite.

Midges and mosquitoes are not the same species. The only thing they have in common is that they are both considered a type of fly. Midges cen be either male or female, just like mosquitoes. Midges do not bite, regardless of sex. Perhaps you should read the article I prepared to enlighten yourself.

http://www.guidetothepoint.com/content.aspx?channel=14

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-Stephanie
Moderator and Wife to the self-contained Freak Show

Well one of them did a strafing run right into my forehead in the front seat of RAPTOR during Coastermania; it felt like a small hypodermic needle at the time, but no lingering pain. Mostly they were just an annoyance, although their tendency to swarm in the evening in these black swarms up in the air made them look like something out of a "Killer Bees Attack Theme Park" movie!

Oddly enough, I hardly noticed them at all during the ERT on Millenium Force around 11-11:30pm.... maybe MF inspires fear even in midge flies!!! LOL