The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-22
MOSQUITO EXPERT TALKS.
Quite Easy, He Says, 10 Distinguish
the MaIariaI Variety.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.

From the Brooklyn Eagle.
Often the mosquito is a harmless fell
low, so far as the consequences of his
bite go, but occasionally he is of d
variety that carries malaria germs
and it is this fellow that Brooklynites
are warned to look out for. How can
he be told? Quite easily-that is, If he
doesn't light upon the back of your
neck or the top of your head, where
you can't see him.
A well-known uptown physician was
talking with an Eagle reporter about
some very interesting things.
mosquitoes last night and he said
What teaches mosquitoes to bite
people, he said, puzzles me. For ev-
cry mosquito that gets taste of hu-
man blood there must be millions who
don't Now, what is 1t that teaches
one out of a million that he can get a
good meal by puncturing the skin of
a human being? I believe that mos
quitoes will tackle anything they can
get their bills into-plants, shrubs and
the like-and that those who cannot
get blood live on moisture sucked from
vegetable growths.
The singing apparatus of a mos
quito is a wonderful piece of mechan-
ism. 1t is built in four of FIVE parts
and has little saw-like arrange
ment that enables him to puncture hui
man skin. That takes a pretty strong
instrument, for skin is fairly tough.
l imagine, however, that the MOSQUITO
does not do any more work than he is
compelled to, and usually looks around
for convenient pore in the skin which
VIII enable him to insert his bill into
the flesh with greater ease. This, TO
my mind, accounts for the fact that n
mosquito usually alights in two or
three places before he makes a bite.
He is loking for good place. Pretty
good eyesight, Ell?
When mosquito bites you the first
thing he does after getting his bill
inserted is to inject his poison into the
flesh just under the skin. This poison.
which acts very quickly, has the effect
of thinning the blood in the Immediate
vicinity OF the bite, thus enabling him
to suck 1t through his bill into his
body. Human blood. II 1t were not
thus diluted, would be too thick for
him to absorb. AS a consequence OF
this fact it is better to let a MOSQUITO
finish biting you after he has once
started in. That is because before he
gets through he sucks out some OF the
poison that he has injected and leaves
less to cause irritation after he is
gone.
There is a popular theory that
mosquito can bite a human being but
once; that the blood he absorbs fer
ments in few hours and destroys him.
That is not so. The mosquito seems
to be able to digest his meal quite well
l have kept one in bottle and allow
ed him to bite me half a dozen times
and each time he made as good a meal
as the first one.
DID you know that there are two
kinds of mosquitoes, one harmless and
the other dangerous. / mean danger
GUS in the sense that he is able TO
inoculate you with malaria. Well. II
is so, and If you observe a mosquito
carefully when he is at work you can
tell the difference. The harmless mos
quito and the other kind look alike
but they have different methods.
When the non malaria MOSQUITO Is
at rest or at work he stands on all
six legs, with his body poised parallel
to the surface upon which he has
alighted. His bill juts downward AT
an angle from his body and he main
tains this position until he has finished
his task.
THE malaria breeding MOSQUITO.
however, is not satisfied with this rest
lui pOSLuIe. ne seems TO be more fo-
rocious and wants TO get close TO his
work. When he alights he throws his
head downward and his body up, so
that his rearest pare Of legs are stick
ing up in the air unsupported His bin
sticks out In straight line from his
body and he shoves II in as far as he
can get IL. Just notice the next time
a mosquito bites you and you will he
able TO tell what kind he is. OF course
you viii not always get malaria from
the malaria breeding mosquito but you
are apt TO II your system is In a re-
ceptive condition for the disease
What would happen to "A man II a
was as big as a chicken2 I
give Il up. but ia hate 10 be the man.
a mosquitoes poison, considering the
small quantity of II that he injects. Ia
very virulent. II raises a lump In a
minute or two and the irritation Ia
Some people suffer much
more from mosquito bites than others.
but. generally speaking. mosquito can
raise a lump on almost anybody"
Swat The reporter had killed a
mosquito.
You shouldn't have been IN such n
hurry" said the doctor you didn't
wait 10 find out what kind ~ mos
qui'O he was"
whats good for a mosquito biteY'
asked the reporter.
ron. there's i0ts ~ things" said the
doctor. Lets ~ q gin hickey