How to gut-load mosquitos

[Molch]

Let's admit it: there's not much to a mosquito except some long stringy bits of chitin. Surely they can't be very nutritious - unless, of course, they are first properly gut-loaded by Mama:

:kill:

 

[eljorgo]

Ugh! Gezzz... Absolutely no need for that! You could get yourself some nasty diseases! Why don't you simply recover egg masses and tons of larvae from stagnant water?
Is it just me that thinks this is... not... proper? I mean that is very dangerous and the sensation that an animal is sucking my inner juices creeps me out!
I can see that for you its indifferent
Cheers,

 

[Molch]

Ugh! Gezzz... Absolutely no need for that! You could get yourself some nasty diseases! Why don't you simply recover egg masses and tons of larvae from stagnant water?
Is it just me that thinks this is... not... proper? I mean that is very dangerous and the sensation that an animal is sucking my inner juices creeps me out!
I can see that for you its indifferent
Cheers,

no worries, mate. It's not dangerous - this is the Arctic, not the tropics, and there are no mosquito-born diseases of any kind here.

Our mosquitos are big, aggressive, and very plentiful. At times you have to breathe with a hand in front of your mouth or you swallow a dozen or so each breath. They rise out of the tundra in big black columns that look like smoke from miles away. We all get sucked on a million times each summer. The inside of my tent is covered in red streaks like a meteor shower - each one a squashed mosquito full of my blood and my dog's. I figure I might as well feed them to my newts, haha.

No one up here ever died of blood loss or contracted a mosquito-transmitted disease; people have, however, gone plain crazy in the bug hail. I've seen it; it ain't pretty :wacko:

P.S.: and yes, I do collect larvae and pupae for the newts. Yum Yum.:supercool:

 

[FrogEyes]

I have many not-so-fond memories of clouds of the $%^* things waiting outside the front door for me...getting in my eyes, in my ears, up my nose...add to those the deer and horse flies, black flies behind my ears, and noseeums between my fingers...ugh. Here in the south things like West Nile are just barely appearing, but the mosquitos are at their worst in tall damp grass. Around the sloughs I actually encounter more damselflies than mosquitos :>

Practical approach, though it wouldn't be my choice. Not only because of transmissable diseases arriving here, but because the bites make me itch :S

 

[fishkeeper]

I thought this thread was a serious one on larvae and mused to myself that it'd be easier with adults...LOL

With that many mosquitoes around outdoor tubs should be a real success.

-either I have no self control compared to other people or am a bit allergic...mozzie bites swell up real good on me compared to others.

 

[Molch]

I don't get any reaction whatsoever to mozzie bites. None. I used to when I first started doing field work on the tundra, but not any more. I think my body has simply build up an immunity, or has simply stopped responding at all.

Most people here slather themselves head-to-toe with bug dope when they go outside. I hate the stuff, it's disgusting and toxic. I'd rather have the mozzies on me than the bug dope...