Mosquitoes - Alaska’s State Bird
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If you thought Alaska’s state bird was the ptarmigan, you’d be wrong. Sure, the ptarmigan may be the “official” state bird, but any old-timer here will tell you that’s just to prevent scaring away the tourists… the real state bird is the mosquito.
Alaska’s mosquitoes are legendary. We’ve been in many areas where mosquitoes were bad - Maine, Minnesota, the Amazon jungle, Michigan’s upper peninsula, sub-Saharan Africa, Tasmania… but nowhere did they match the voracity, number or size of the Alaskan variety. Some of these mosquitoes are so big, I’m pretty sure they’re required to have tail numbers and file flight plans. They’re part of the nightly weather forecast… tomorrow, expect the humidity to be 45% and the mosquitoes to be around 65%.
We’ve been to Alaska several times, so the mosquitoes here didn’t come as a surprise. We came prepared: many varieties of spray-on repellent, repellent wipes, mosquito netting to cover our faces and necks, a couple bottles of long-lasting repellent for spraying on gear, clothing and netting, plus a supply of the latest in high-tech mosquito repellent, fuel-powered Thermacell Mosquito Repellent devices.
We also did a pretty good job of mosquito-proofing Blanche, but when they’re swarming, it’s impossible to get in or out without letting a few dozen in. Once we’re settled in, we usually spend a half hour or so hunting them down. Inevitably, however, even after we’re sure we got them all, once the light is off and we’re just dozing off, we’ll hear the annoying buzz of the two or three that were hiding, now come out to play. On goes the light and we begin another round of hide and seek. This may go on for half an hour or more before we finally give up and just let the last survivors have their fill.
Interestingly, if we don’t armor-up with an adequate dose of bug spray prior to going on a walk together, Marcie will end up with five bites to every one of mine. Worse, not only do mosquitoes seem to like her more, she has a more toxic reaction to them. The bites she gets will often result in quarter-sized welts, while mine usually cause only small, slightly itchy, freckle-sized bites.
We wondered why some people, Marcie in particular, attract mosquitoes more than others - me for example. Here are some possibilities:
‘Mosquitoes are drawn to exhaled carbon dioxide.’ Does Marcie exhale more CO2 than I do? Not likely, since we’re walking at the same pace and usually not overly exerting ourselves. Plus, since we’re next to each other, our combined CO2 cloud would attract mosquitoes to both of us, not just her.
‘Some blood types seem to be more attractive to mosquitoes than others.’ One small study found that mosquitoes landed on people with type O blood almost twice as often as those with type A. Good theory, but we’re both exactly the same blood type.
‘Having a beer can make you more attractive to mosquitoes.’ Several studies have shown that even one beer can draw them to you, but it’s probably not the explanation in our case. We average 2-3 beers a week, and when we do have a beer, we drink them together.
‘Bright colors attract mosquitoes.’ Some studies indicate that bright colors seem to attract mosquitoes more than camo type colors. Again, not likely. I’m just as likely to be wearing bright colors as Marcie.
‘Mosquitoes prefer pregnant women.’ Lordy, lordy - this is so not a possibility as to why mosquitoes are attracted to Marcie.
‘It’s genetics.’ This seems like a very likely explanation. Some researchers believe that genetic factors account for 85% of the variability in people in how much they attract mosquitoes. Reinforcing this hypothesis are a few studies done with identical twins in which neither twin was bitten more than the other. And the latest thinking suggests that it isn’t that mosquitoes are naturally attracted to some people, but, rather, just the opposite; that some of us produce chemicals on our skin that act as repellents or cover up the smells that mosquitoes find attractive.
Here are some other interesting facts about mosquitoes:
Only female mosquitoes bite humans, and not for food, but for protein for their eggs. The males are totally vegetarian, eating only fruit and nectar.
Mosquitoes are the most deadly animal on the planet. They kill an estimated 750,000 people each year from a host of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and West Nile virus. Compare that to sharks which kill about 10 people each year.
One thing that isn’t spread by mosquitoes is the HIV virus. HIV-infected humans have very few HIV virus particles in their bloodstream, and any that are sucked up by a mosquito are quickly killed by her digestive system.
It would take about 1,200,000 mosquito bites to completely drain the average human of blood. That seems like a lot, but if you were to stand outside, naked, in Alaska, you’d get about 9,000 bites per minute, and, at that rate, you would be drained of blood in about 2-1/2 hours. Just one more reason why nude fly fishing is a bad idea.
If you stretch your skin around a mosquito’s proboscis while she’s biting you, she can’t retract it, and will keep sucking your blood until she pops. It’s probably best not to try this while wearing a white shirt.
Bug zappers may actually increase the number of mosquitoes in your yard. Mosquitoes aren’t attracted to the heat or ultraviolet light of bug zappers, but beneficial insects that hunt mosquitoes, like dragonflies, are.
As a mosquito sucks her victim’s blood, she injects a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting. It’s this anticoagulant that causes an allergic reaction, with the resultant itch, and, in Marcie’s case, the large welt.
Windy nights or sitting by a fan can help to keep mosquitoes at bay. The breeze dissipates the exhaled CO2 and other attractants that they use to find their victims.
Some research shows that mosquitoes prefer other mammals over humans. This is, supposedly, one reason medieval farmers allowed their pigs and goats to sleep inside their huts, but it’s not a preventative measure we’re quite ready to try.
The world’s largest statue of a mosquito is in Komarno, Manitoba, has a wingspan of 15 feet, and is also a weathervane.
Finally, a mosquito story…
My stepdad loved telling this great mosquito story. After getting discharged from the army at the end of WWII, he decided to live in Alaska for a few years, and got a job as a cop with the Anchorage police department. He was out in his cruiser one day, patrolling a remote, outlying part of town, when he got a flat tire. He got out to change it, but barely got the spare and jack removed from the trunk before he was swarmed with mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were in his eyes, in his ears, trying to get up his nose and biting every square inch of exposed skin. He brushed off as many as he could while hopping back into the car, then spent the next ten minutes or so killing those that got in with him while waiting for the ones outside to disperse. Once it looked clear, he got out again and managed to get two lug nuts loosened before they drove him back in again. After repeating the process a couple more times, he came to the realization that, at the rate he was going, his shift would be long over before he got the tire changed. He got out once more, determined to tough it out and cope with the mosquitoes. He managed to get the car jacked up and the wheel off, all the while swatting and swearing at the merciless hordes, before he finally got so frustrated that he pulled out his service revolver and emptied it at the nasty buggers. More than a little embarrassed, he holstered his weapon, and, not even pausing to do a body count, managed to finish changing the tire.
“Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito”… Confucius
See you next week…