Little female vampires are numerous this year

Whether working in the garden or just trying to enjoy a cocktail while watching the plants grow, has not been much fun because the population of mosquitoes has been off the charts.  This must be a good year for them or perhaps as they continue to expand their range northward, this is the new normal (very depressing).  In case you didn't know it's only the female mosquitoes that bite; they need the blood to get enough protein to lay eggs.  The males get by with plant sap.  And they are rather aggressive little beasts because these are the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, They are black with white markings and the linked page will provide some useful information.  TPP rather hates getting all sprayed up with DEET containing repellents, but this mosquito can carry all kinds of nasty diseases, so not a good idea to get bitten all the time, not that TPP hasn't gotten lots of bites anyways.  Both of us have type O blood that is apparently particularly tasty to mosquitoes and this species is also active by day.  A warming climate will allow this mosquito to continue its move to the north.  This definitely limits the appeal of being outside.  We keep containers that can collect rain water empty, but tree holes are a favorite and our gardens have plenty, and they are largely inaccessible.

Moss sweet toes

TPP just noted that summer rains always bring fungi, and the last couple of days have reminded the botanist of something else that comes with summer rains too. Moss-sweet-toes. Of course, at halfway through the month of June, out rainfall is about 50% above our monthly average for June, and there a still a dozen days to go. So it's wet, it's soggy, and every tree hole out there must be filled with water by now, the favored breeding site for mosquitos in this area. The last two trips outside in the evening were like trips to a blood bank as those thirsty female vampires of the insect world (you do know that only the females need a blood meal to get protein for their eggs?) swarmed upon us. TPP has a mosquito expert as a colleague, so perhaps it would be good to see if any bad species are around this year. This area does have West Nile virus, but so far no dead crows (nesting in a neighbor's tree) or bluejays, both susceptable species, and no reports of the virus yet, but give it time. TPP already has two samples of blood enshrined at the CDC from this tropical adventures, so reasonable precautions will be taken. So like it or not, insect repellant will remain our gardeners' friend. On the silver-lining side of things, chiggers are often less of a problem in wet years (but they are showing up now too).