127th World Mosquito Day
What do we think about World Mosquito Day?
It’s helpful for people to be aware of what the world’s deadliest killers, mosquitoes can do to harm human health.
It is useful to have a reminder every year for 127 years!
Last year we sat in on the global call with LSHTM and listened to the collaborative way world experts continue researching the space. Sharing knowledge over the wires, openly and altogether is nothing short of excellent and long may it continue.
Truth is though, we need to remember we share Nature with Nature and our world will never be friction free - wouldn’t it be bad if it was?
Friction is important for life and we can be highly innovative when we are in times of struggle.
Here’s a ground level view and reminder of the day to day bugs that bite in the UK alone (provided to us by the UK’s government body operating in East England called The Broads Authority and checked and shared by their very helpful Ecologist (thanks, Emily!)
Mosquitoes - there's a long list of species in East Norfolk which are troublesome, but the chief culprits are Banded Mosquito (Culiseta annulate), Anopheles claviger, Aedes rusticus and Aedes annulipes.
Biting midges - these include Culicoides impunctatus (the Highland midge), but Culicoides obsoletus may be a more frequent biter in the Broads. On evenings in the summer, there can be swarms of Culicoides just as intense as those in Scotland.
Blackflies - Several Simulium species are present in Broadland, none particularly abundant, but can be pests locally.
Horse/deer flies - Haematopota pluvialis (commonly known as one of the “clegs”) is widespread and abundant species. Chrysops relictus (Twin-lobed Deer fly) is a problem in more wooded areas, and among the larger species, the nationally scarce Broadland Horsefly (Hybomitra muehlfeldi) is common in places. These will bite through thin clothing!
The Stable Fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) can be a bit of a problem in areas with livestock, but usually they prefer biting cattle.
Quite a list!
Whilst we are bugging you about bugs and the like on World Mosquito Day, here’s our video of a tick…
There’s an up-tick in numbers of these the UK right now!
You’ll want to stay vigilant for these particular Arachnida if you’ve forgotten your long trousers and sleeves! Check your skin for ticks after a walk, even after a round of golf you might feel you’re a winner, but a tiny tick maybe having you for dinner! Here is a 1-pager to print off on how to get them out of your skin correctly, important because ticks are carrying the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.
Ticks are very small - check over your arms and legs, especially if you've not out and about in your Mozzie Cozzie that covers your limbs completely and in under 60 seconds!
PACK Mozzie Cozzie - for us, PACK means Protective, Adaptive, Comfortable, Kind.
Bugs and things that bite are a key part of our ecosystem - they provide biodiversity and food for others in the value chain and they help keep balance in our shared world.
Some facts about invasive insects, insect carrying disease and insect repellents are on our infographic below - you can see this ongoing global battle clearly.
Is there a need to burrow underground with worry?
We say ‘No!’
We say, keep out there, understand and look outside the struggle to see if you can see things from a different point of view?
Above all be aware and be prepared.
Inside a Mozzie Cozzie you can feel safer from insects that bite and you can live more in the outside - worth a focused thought on how to Keep Calm and Carry on perhaps?
Why not consider investing in one for yourself …
