We have had a stretch of cool weather for the past few weeks, around 60, dipping into the 40's at night. It always takes me a little while to get used to it, but now I think I have made the adjustment. No more wearing shorts, sandals and single layers. But one of the things I like about this time of year is that as the temperatures cool, the mosquitoes vanish. It becomes possible again to be outdoors while the sun sets and not be swarmed by thirsty parasites.
Today it was a little warmer, around 70, and I took advantage of the bright, sunny day and went running this evening. Afterwards, as I returned home and started stretching, I noticed a tiny stinging sensation on my calf. Looked down, and sure enough, it was an autumn mosquito drinking my precious life fluid. Usually either my gut instinct or else my inability to tolerate the creeping stinging feeling will compel me to swat the aggressor dead immediately. However, this time it wasn't so bad, probably due to the post-exercise endorphins flowing in my brain, and I watched this little creature drink my blood without the urge to kill it right away. At this moment, I remembered something I had read many years ago. It was some advice that said it is the proboscis of a swatted mosquito still lodged in the skin that causes the itching, and that if you can refrain from killing it until it pulls out, then you will be spared an itchy welt. Seeing as I was tolerating the bite well, I decided I would test this theory. So I waited patiently for the mosquito to finish. And waited. A minute or two passed, but she was still not done. I tried tapping my skin next to her, and brushing her hind legs with my finger to see if I could scare her into pulling out, but she refused. She had her nose in my skin up to the hilt, and as far as she was concerned she wasn't going anywhere. I had no recourse but to step up the level of coercion. I carefully grabbed one of her hind legs and gently started pulling. After a few gentle tugs, she still would not budge. So I delivered constant force, wondering if she would let me tear off her leg before she withdrew. But that did the trick. She finally removed her beak (all 3/16 of an inch of it--that's quite a bit of stuff to get stuck in your skin when you think about it--no wonder it itches so much!). With only the slightest trace of remorse, I squashed her into a paper towel, leaving a circle of blood.
At first a small welt remained on my calf, but about an hour has passed since then, and the welt has gone away. There's a little redness to the skin at the bite-site, but it doesn't itch at all. Perhaps that advice was right? I'll let you know how it turns out after more time passes.
Update: After 24 hours, the mosquito bite started to itch. And now that a few days have passed, it still itches a little and feels almost like an ordinary mosquito bite, but a good deal less intense (for lack of a better word). So that story about the beak causing all the itch is just false. She must have pumped some venom into me, and that's causing the itch.
