skeeter

I am outside, a nice coolish evening following a clear upper 70's day. The mosquitoes continue to be a nuisance. They need to work on their tactics, need to work together more effectively. If they could just organize, we could do this thing for real. As it is, they continue their piecemeal attacks, like an old kung fu movie where ten ninjas attack one by one, rather than all at once. This assures defeat, but also guarantees a prolonged fight scene and more entertainment, just as it is doing tonight. One attacks my elbow... dead. One goes for my shirt... dead. Another buzzes in my ear... probably survives. Another buzzing in my ear... same bug or different? Same result... a quick, awkward, unathletic flail. I strike swiftly, my failure to eradicate is instantaneous. These are slow-moving gentle-juicy mosquitoes, yet some manage to elude my clumsy gestures. Some are mistakenly swiped. Maybe they are getting old and fat. Mosquitoes don't live for long - a few weeks, a few months. Only female mosquitoes take blood meals. Males never do. Males eat plant materials such as nectar. Females do as well. Females are supposed to take blood meals only at a certain point in their lifecycle, when they are a few days away from laying their eggs (and the blood provides iron for the eggs.) I credit Steve Meshnick of UofM Tue Jan 10 08:52:11 EST 1995 with the facts just stated, I'll take full responsibility for the rest of it. I bet ol' Steve wouldn't think an answer in a chat room about mosquitoes and blood would still be relevant or active more than 14 years later, but it totally is.

So they're not old and fat, they're just pregnant and bloodthirsty. (Insert sexist 50's era joke here) How about... That's just like a woman!

wahhh wahhhhhhhhh.

You're welcome.