Dingue Fever & Aedes Albopictus

Dengue fever, Malaria and Chickungunya have been very much on the news this week. The common thread is Aedes albopictus, the formidable stripped mosquito, known also as the Tiger mosquito.I found  Wikipedia quite up to date thereon.

Here is my story of the stripped Mosquito.

This reminds me my school days, when, I had the chance to have a break away from school. My treat was to rush to Jardin Balfour and walk down the banks of the river to reach the Balfour water falls. At the foot of the falls, especially in summer, in company of the school mates, we would enjoy the cooling and wonderful atmosphere of a swim in the river. There after, we would armed ourselves with our specially implements for the catch of Camarons. Bambous were used to hold the bait made of lumps of bread. A lasso made of selected and purposed engineered grass weed to hook the delicious and precoius preys, was used with great skill to lift up the camarons whilst they were enjoying our bread.

Skills, patience and stillness were the absolute qualities needed from the errant school boy turned fisherman. Whilst I had my attention & vision fully committed on the prey some 3 feets below in the clear water of the bed of the river and both hands busy, holding on the left the bamboo bearing the bait and on the right the lasso to hook the camaron, came bzzzzzz the stripped mosquito on my bare thigh. There was no way to shake off of the sucker who found in me fresh blood to quench his thirst.I decided that I shall go for my camaron at all cost and would support the painful sting of the monster mosquito. My eyes were playing pingpong. A few seconds I focused in the bed of the river through the crystal clear water, slowly waiting for the camaron to back up into my lasso to loop my prey and the next second in complete stillness, watching the skinny Tiger mosquito drawing blood from the stung thigh. I was almost there, the loop had got to half the body length of the camaron and I just need a few millimeters more to hook my trophy.In the while the Tiger Mosquito drew so much blood that it swelled like a ballon. The skinny became round and heavy. Having finished the business and had his fill, he took off. The mosquito was so heavy that he felt in the water, causing a commotion and ripple in the water. The stillness was broken causing my Camron to run away.

To hell “Aedes Albopictus.”