In Galicia, politicians, institutions, biologists and ecologists have been paying attention to the same thing for some time: flies. More precisely, the proliferation of these insects in various parts of society. The problem has reached such a level in some towns that it has prompted a study by the University of Vigo and even a warning from the Galician Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Fegamp), which brings the number of towns affected to twenty.

But the most interesting thing is not the so-called fly plague itself, but what it tells us about our environment and how it is transformed.

Is there a fly epidemic in Galicia? No. Experts question whether this can be called a plague, at least with current data. This does not mean that the proliferation of flies has become a real headache in some towns in Galicia, and in at least two towns 175 km apart the problem appears to have reached almost infestation level.

Salustiano Mato, professor of Zoology at the University of Vigo, explains: “With the information we have, we still cannot talk about a plague. What we do know is that there is a disproportionate population of flies in some areas of the town hall of Tomiño.” . His group of biologists has been studying for a year how house flies evolved and reproduced at a certain point in Baixo Miño, in southern Galicia, on the Portuguese border.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

How many areas were affected? Adhere to. If you ask the Galician Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, the answer is twenty. This is at least the information he announced weeks ago when he reported that there were 21 towns affected by the flies: seven in A Coruña, six in Pontevedra, five in Ourense and three in Lugo. The list was drawn up by a survey of city councils carried out in November, which asked, among other questions, whether they had detected “sudden increases” in the populations of these insects.

Going into details (even further). The problem is that it did not take long for some of these 21 municipalities to declare that they were not suffering from any fly infestations. This applies to A Teixeira, A Gudiña, Vilamartín, Riotorto, Aranga or Coirós, as well as other municipal councils consulted by the Council of State. voice of galicia and where councilors claim there is no evidence of any problems with these insects. For example, in Teo, a town in the state of A Coruña, the mayor explained that there was an incident in the summer, but that it was a specific, local case and was eventually resolved.

The key may be the breadth of the Fegamp study, which asked about “spikes” in flies that last only a few days or weeks and other “spikes” that last for months. The Federation is aware that the intensity of the incident varies from one region to another, but said its aim is to provide the image of the problem and direct Xunta to seek solutions.

“Disproportionate explosions”. The fact that we cannot speak of a uniform and simultaneous Galician plague does not mean that there are not serious cases of real fly infestation in the community. Specifically, there are two issues on which city councils themselves have raised their voices. One of them is Tomiño in the O Val Miñor region, located in the southwestern province of Pontevedra. The problem is so serious that the mayor commissioned a study into the proliferation of dipterans. The task fell to a research group specializing in environmental biology from the neighboring University of Vigo.

Mato, a professor of zoology and member of the team, acknowledges that “disproportionate fly population explosions” were detected in “some areas of the Tomiño city hall.” The problem here, at least, is one caused by the common fly, a prolific species that can lay nearly a thousand eggs in an adult life cycle. This rhythm of reproduction explains, as the expert recalled during an interview: CountryAt certain times “hundreds of thousands of flies” multiply, so numerous that “they can cover the window panes.”

“This is maddening”. Country He also spoke with some residents of Tomiño, where the problem appears to be concentrated in two specific neighborhoods of about 800 people. One of those affected is Isaac Acuña, who finds the situation created by the flies “disturbing.” With the help of adhesive tapes, he managed to catch 300 flies in just a few hours.

Not only is his insect existence unhealthy, but the dipteran “cloud” he has to deal with also directly affects his daily life: he cannot ventilate his home well and restricts his outdoor activities. Despite this and the mosquito nets he installed, he admits that flies are still sneaking in.

175 kilometers away… Tomiño is not the only town in Galicia that has agreed to deal with these insects. About 175 kilometers from here, in Narón in A Coruña state, they see how flies have long been a problem. To be more precise, something that punishes the community of O Val.

To combat these, the city council also launched a study and looked for ways to encourage the presence of birds that help control the fly population. voice of galicia CRTVG states that the insect infestation in O Val started five years ago and is a problem especially in the spring and summer months.

“They are there even on cold days because they are already used to these temperatures,” Manoli Castro, president of the Irmandiños neighborhood association, explains to the newspaper. Those affected insist daily on the discomfort they cause: “Cooking sucks; eating is still the same; you can’t live a normal life.”

“A perfect storm.” The real question is… How are these invasions explained? And why do they seem to focus on these particular areas? Among those who analyze the problem, there is talk of a “perfect storm” consisting of a combination of factors in which temperature and humidity play important roles. “Factors supporting this situation are climate change, rising temperatures and changes in land use,” explains Mato.

“Climate change encourages the biological cycle of these animals to activate all year round, increasing their population dynamics,” he notes. The fact that the thermometer stops falling below zero degrees at least with the same frequency and reaches 20 degrees at the beginning of the year affects the latent periods of dipterans. “Climatic factors, a combination of temperature and humidity may be behind this,” shares the Galicia Environmental Society.

beyond the weather. This is not the only key to understanding the problem with flies in certain parts of Galicia. This event coincides with the loss of insect-eating birds and forest mass. In fact, Acuña explains, the increase in flies about four years ago coincided with the logging of nearby forests.

Another important point is the changes in the use of cropland, where the way the soil is fertilized and the intensity of production changes. In fact, according to Mato, an effective way to prevent infestations is to compost and apply “good agricultural practices in sensitive areas.”

Asking for help. If the mayors of the most affected populations are clear on one thing, it is that measures that go beyond municipal powers must be taken. “Xunta needs to take care of these flies, just like he takes care of the tiger mosquito and velutina; they don’t understand boundaries,” says one person in Tomiño, where businesses are already threatening to close their doors if solutions are not found. His colleague in Narón emphasizes the impact of the problem on his neighbors: “In the strong peaks this is an exaggeration.”

Image | Gabriel Remotti (Flickr) and Sergei Gussev (Flickr)

in Xataka | Los Angeles will release two million fruit flies. Plans: A Los Angeles without fruit flies