Interesting, fascinating and curious. But when certain insects reciprocate this curiosity then it stops being a joke! They certainly can have a knack for making us irritable and jittery driving us even to extreme measures in an attempt to get rid of them, especially flies and mosquitoes or, even worse, bees and wasps.
What can be worse than a muggy summer's day rife with unbearable flies or bees ? Or at night, with that one pesky and elusive mosquito buzzing away and not letting us get to sleep?
Getting to know them a bit more can help in avoiding these little pests.
MOSQUITO
In the common mosquito it's the female that does the stinging, locating its victims by sight and smell and with the receptors on its antennas thanks to which it can home in on the heat generated by the bodies of warm-blooded animals such as ourselves. The latest arrival is the tiger mosquito which is even more aggressive than its common relative. It's a low flier and is especially appreciative of ankles and legs. Its sting can be very irritating and extremely itchy.
FLIES
There is a wide range of these little pests, the most common of which is the house fly. Smells of various kinds are what attracts it. It flits around and can alight on just about anything even on decaying matter. It is therefore a carrier of micro-organisms which may contaminate the food on which it comes to rest. Horseflies are also members of the family. They feature elongated bodies and are sturdier than the house fly. Often found in the countryside, their predilection for animals doesn't mean that they don't find humans equally attractive!
WASPS AND BEES
Belonging to the same family, these little critters strike by stinging! They are not equally aggressive, however. Bees, for instance, can only strike once and then lose their sting which remains hooked into the skin of their victims. Wasps, on the other hand, can even strike several times without being affected in any way.
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