The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

Male adult midge, Sungei Buloh;
(Photo by Marcus)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.'" And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

- Exodus 8: 20-24

Midge swarm, Utah;
(Photo by AMICHAELMURRAY)

In the previous post, I discussed some aspects of the biology and ecology of the Chironomidae, also known as non-biting midges. I briefly mentioned the tendency of many midge species to form huge swarms, which can have negative effects on human communities in the vicinity. This post will look at one such swarming event in Singapore.

TC: Trees were pruned to ensure safety of residents

Aljunied Town Council says the decision to prune the trees was made because they had received reports from residents living in the block that the overgrown trees were a safety hazard.

This is in reply to an earlier article where STOMPer Patrick Tan had asked why the trees in Block 613 in Bedok Reservoir Road were cut 'botak'.

A spokesperson for Aljunied Town Council said:

"We thank the STOMPer for the comment on 6 May 2010 about the trees that were trimmed at Block 613 Bedok Reservoir Road.

"Residents of Blk 613A Bedok Reservoir Road had earlier reported to the Aljunied Town Council about overgrown trees and that their branches were growing too near to the building facade, causing insects to get into their homes.

"In addition, they said the branches of these rain trees often snap after a heavy downpour. Hence, for the safety of all residents, the Town Council decided to prune the 3 trees.

"We welcome feedback from residents as this will make Aljunied GRC a better home for everyone. Residents may also give us feedback at telephone 6744-1033 any time during normal office hours, or through iLink @ Aljunied GRC."

Related post: Trees that provided us with shade were cut 'botak' (6th May 2010)

Trees that provided us with shade were cut 'botak'

STOMPer Patrick Tan wonders why these trees were cut 'botak' by the town council as they provide shade for the residents.

The STOMPer said in an email:

"I was surprised to see that the trees which provide shade for residents at Block 613, Bedok Reservoir Road, were cut 'botak'.

"These trees were providing people with good shade at the fitness corner and jogging track.

"I don't understand why the town council decided to cut them 'botak'.

Such heavy pruning may have been carried out due to complaints of birds roosting in these trees and creating a nuisance.

Strong winds cause big tree to collapse and fall against condo perimeter

Strong winds from last night's storm weakened this big tree, resulting in it collapsing the next morning. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

STOMPer SG who lives in the Condo, Clearwater, along Bedok Reservoir View, witness the tree collapsing this morning (May 7).

Says this STOMPer:

"I live on the 14th floor, and saw this big tree collapsing in the morning.

"It was weakened by last night's strong winds, and only collapse this morning.

"The tree is actually in the premise of my condo.

"It fell across a drain and landed against the perimeter of the condo.

"Luckily no one was hit."

People caught plucking mangoes claim they are RC members

The men would pluck the ripe mangoes from the trees near Block 629 Bedok Reservoir Road and place them into bags or containers. When confronted, they claimed to be RC members.

STOMPer Ong, who took these photos, said:

"Every time the mangoes outside Block 629 Bedok Reservoir Road are ripe, there are people who claim to be from the RC who would come and pluck the mangoes.

"I asked them once, and they told me they were RC members.

"They would always arrive with containers and plastic bags.

"I would like to know, if the mangoes do belong to the RCs, does that give them the privilege to pluck the mangos?

"Looking at the fat mangos below, I have a feel it's unfair because I have not got to taste the mangoes before."

According to him, the plucking has been going on since last year, and it has become more frequent lately.

Related article: Mango season hits Singapore streets (19th April 2009) (Mirror)