The Wickedness of the Mosquito.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 3 January 1891, Page 3

The Wickedness of the Mosquito.

There is an amusing description in Chambers' Journal of the j wiles of the mosquito ks studied ' in India. Naturally intelligent, the ! m )*quito acquires at an early age an ! exhaustive kowledgo of the anatomy ! of man, displaying an intimacy with the spots where the cuticle U thi:i- ' nest, which does credit to mosquito methods of tuition. When he finds [ his victim t. sleep he can exercise his trained instincts at leisuro, and do- ' votes his attention to the ears, neck ; of knuck'es. If the foie part <f your wrist chauce3 to b? exposed, he shows great partiality for tha s j ten- ' der locality ; but he is not exacting. Whilst you are awake he exhibits the un-obtrusive bide of his character j and prefer i fc<» p'sin/e ou yonr ankles To do Ihis he must of course p netrnto you' 1 m>c!c ; and here again you discover how thoroughly j he has boesi prepared by education ' for his career, lie d esn't waste time over worsted ; he has beon taught that its thiclcnes3 exceeds the length of his sharp proboscis, aud he passes that fabric hufly by, to browse upon ankles protected only by thin cotton or si k ; they offer no obstacle worth mentioning and he knows it. In taste, the mo3quito id dain f y and discriminating. He despises the black man and turns up his pro*<bcscia at a tough sun-dried old 1 Anglo-Indian. The meal that rojoices his heart most is that to bo drawn from the veins ol tender young Briton fresh out from home ; b and for this victim he has an unerring eye. So marked is this epi - ■}cureau preference, that if you sit next to a nice rosy cheeked boy at the dinner-table, yon will be utterly ignored by the rnofquitues in his favour. They won't pay the slightest attention to you while the new i arrival is there ; bnt this dosen't T make you jeal«us jft Ilia appetite is gigantic for he is all stomach. Watch him while he is feeding — on somebody else — and you marvel at his oxtraordinary t elasticity and power of accomodation. Having Waited until his victim'B closed eyes betoken slumber he ceases the song he has been singing thoughtfully to himß9'f, and drops, softly as a floss of thistledown, upon the spot of his choice. He folds his gauzy wings, unfurls his proboscis, strokes the creases out of it, gives it a flourish or two, and plunges it into the eperdermis. At first he stands on all eight legs absorbed in his repast ; but presently the first sharp edge of hunger dulled he begins to show signs of enjoyment. Raising his hindmost pair of legs, he works them stifly up and down as though to aid by his pumphandle action the process of suction ; bis body no thicker than a silken thread when he alighted, begins to take decided shape, and the black and gray bands which adorn him Bhow up distinctly. Steadily he begins to increase in bulk uniformly from end to end ; a pinky ha c suffuses his whole being and he seems to blush all over with delight. By-and-by the hindmost legs cease pumping and resume their proper office ; the dis f ended body sinks down as though the slender limbs could no longer support its weight. The mosquto has finished ; in other words, he is as full as he ' can hold. He rolls up his proboscis , and the imaginative spectator hears his microscopic sign of repletion \ he feels his now portly form all over with his legs just to make sure that he can't hold any more, spreads his win^G, and sails heavily away to digest his meal.