Sweltering heat and humidity provide ideal conditions for insects.
My Permethrin-treated gear and a light breeze make a hike bearable. In the past, I’ve written poetry about insects. And I’m inspired to quote SUMMER by Walter Dean Myers whenever there’s a heat wave.
My recent discovery, Nature’s Everyday Mysteries
According to Dr. John D. Edman, the entomologist Montgomery cites in her book (p. 64), most mosquitoes that drink human blood would prefer something more nourishing, but “we have slaughtered and crowded out so many other species that for many mosquitoes we’re all that’s left on the menu.”
Anticipating that most readers would still not be willing to endure itchy bites, the writer offers one hopeful solution: Anopheles barberi. This mosquito preys on the larvae of the mosquitoes that feast on humans. Finding A. barberi is not easy; they hatch in rotten dark tree holes and are apparently being studied at UMASS.
It’s comforting to know that there are options to poison.