Grrrr Greenheads!!

Summer in a location with saltmarshes means that at some point, greenhead flies will rudely announce themselves.  Greenhead flies and black flies can spell the end of a perfectly fine beach or painting day if they are plentiful enough and at their peak.   At our saltmarshes, greenheads usually appear sometime around July 4^th and last for about two weeks.   They are quite aggressive and they bite.  I've been told that on the beach, kids even compete for how many "greenies" a person can swat in a day.   The record that our family knows of is 315 in one day by one person.    I don't know why someone would subject themselves to that much time exposed to the little devils, but to teens this kind of competition is worth it!

The greenies' ugly little cousins, black flies – also called “New Hampshire flies” -  appear later in July if they appear at all.   These look like ordinary house flies, but they're not.  They usually agree on a particular victim and gang up on the poor mammal.   If they like you, look out.   With respect to how numerous they are and how long they endure, black flies can be even worse than greenheads.



Greenhaed Weaponry

Greenhead weaponry may include a fly swatter, citronella candles, and bug spray.   These brightly colored items, sitting in a pile on July 4th, prompted me to pull out my still life shelf and set up the summery, anti-greenhead collection with a colorful striped beach towel underneath.  My warm spotlight illuminated from the top.

I began by blocking in my straw hat, not exactly a greenhead related item, but compositionally useful for its circular lines and muted cool shadows.   These curves provided variation and intersected all the other objects with their straight lines.  I then proceeded to the bright colors and made a conscious effort to use clean brushes and out-if-the-tube color where possible. 

I like striped fabric in my set ups, as you may have noticed.   One thing I liked about this one is that for every "out-of-the-tube", I made a shadow pile of that paint on my palette.  Where the towel folds over and is in shadow, I then had the darker version of the color ready to blend to toward the brightest hue of it, making it look like fabric.

Here is the effort after my first painting session of this 11X14 inch canvas.    I should note that in the days since I started the painting, we have not had a big problem with greenheads.   I've only been bit a couple of times.  I hope I do not jinx myself.


Usual Greenhead Cycle:

I spot my first biting fly of the season and remember how much I hate them.   I go into high alert mode and if I so much as feel anything brush against my skin, I am instantly ready to swat the bugger.   It takes about a week for them to hit the peak infestation and activity.   Toward the end of the second week, they get “stupid.”    They laze around and buzz aimlessly, making for a much easier target.   By July 21, they are gone for another year. 

I remind myself, greenheads are temporary!

Bonus Postscript:  Instructions for dealing with greenheads- 

Swatting them dead with your hand:

The best method to ensure a kill is to sideswipe, rather than whack it perpendicular to your body.   They seem to not see a sideswipe coming.  I’ve given greenheads a good whack, only to have them occasionally land and take off again.   This is probably why whenever you see someone successfully swat a greenie to the ground, they will then pound it about six more times to 1) make sure its really dead, and 2) vent the frustration of having to deal with these annoying pests.

Fly swatters: 

Greenies know what fly swatters are and will avoid your blanket or easel if they see one.  Display it prominently so they also will tell their friends.

Bug Spray: 

Wearing Insect repellant does work, although they still may tend to bump into your skin - then fly away – a little nervewracking, but at least you are spared the painful bite.  

Happy July!