What's that by Lake Erie? Swarms of midges captured on weather radar

Like a scene out of a horror movie, large swarms of insects have been spotted in Northeast Ohio in counties along Lake Erie.

The midges have amassed in such a number that the National Weather Service's Cleveland office picked up the insects on their weather radar near the lakeshore of Lorain and Huron counties on Saturday.

Midges are small flies. Although they look like mosquitoes, with small bodies, long, narrow wings and long, skinny legs, they are not in the mosquito family. They are common in places near water, where they live as larvae, emerge as adults and where females lay their eggs.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, male midges are famous for gathering into swarms that dance together in the air, often forming in the early evening.

A similar phenomenon has also happened around Cincinnati. Last July, mayflies hatched along the Ohio River in numbers so large they were also picked up by the weather radar.