Russian town bombarded by 'tornado' of bugs
"It's a tornado invasion," one resident said.
BELGRADE, Serbia -- This summer the Russian city of Taganrog has been taken over by bugs -- millions of them -- and some residents say they're living in a real life Alfred Hitchcock movie.
No one quite knows what they are but these winged creatures are swarming the streets.
“They are one treat we really did not need,” Arkady Kusnetsov, a Taganrog resident, told ABC News. “Good thing they don’t bite. ... They would murder us.”
When they first appeared several years ago, “we did not know what they were,” recalled Aleksandr Vasilets.
“There were fewer of them then," Vasilets added. "Now it’s a tornado invasion. It's like Hitchcock’s 'The Birds,' but with insects."
People in this Russian port city are used to working and relaxing outside and they are no strangers to mosquitoes or flies. But the constant buzzing sound is sending residents as well as their pets to look for cover.
One video shows a young woman falling down a slippery layer of the insects, believed to be non-biting midges. Another video shows a man’s hand completely covered in green midges.
Residents say the life span of a non-biting midge is only a few days.
“The only good thing is that they are harmless for humans,” said Natalya, a librarian. “I can't wait for weather to become cooler. Until then, we will have to live with such gross nuisance.”
