With the summer season coming to an end, people would expect the chilly fall weather to set in, giving us Halloween vibes, and preparing us for the festivities of Thanksgiving and Christmas. With that being said, most of us would forget about the devious insects known as mosquitoes that bring searing itches on thighs or cherry red spots on cheeks.

Although many people don’t have much of a reaction to the sting of these insects, I on the other hand experience bites that turn into the shape of Australia. Interestingly enough, I recently suffered with having 11 bug bites on my leg, each swelling up to the size of Gatorade lids. I loaded up on taking care of my issues with a Benadryl After-Bite Stick and a tube of Aveeno Anti-Itch cream. These products gave me temporary relief, but they did not prevent me from waking up in the middle of the night to itch my legs.

While being in a state of bitterness, I wondered, do mosquitoes really have a purpose? These insects really only take away a small portion of a blood supply, but also spread disease, wiping out huge numbers in our population. For example, the West Nile virus, a virus that spread mostly from mosquitoes that causes encephalitis and flulike symptoms. Even though this virus had its first start up in Uganda, it somehow found its way into the US. According to the Centers of Disease Control, 36 states and the District of Columbia have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes in 2018. Even with this information, there is still no vaccine.  

That got me to think a little more about the purpose to mosquitoes. Other than killing off people, what do they do? Some people may argue that they provide for ecosystems and feed other organisms, like the 8 legged creature we call spiders. Although these arachnids are predators for mosquitoes, they are only predators when a mosquito flies into their web. Other then that, spiders mainly eat ants, flies, and bees.

Besides that, I still perpetually wondered. With my summer night experiences, I viewed mosquitoes as the insect that made people come home itching and scrambling for a form of relief. I also viewed mosquitoes as the blood suckers that you would find satisfaction in slapping.

Getting to slap a mosquito on any part of your body or even your friend is always an achievement.

Other than that, these twitchy legged monsters will go on to keep stealing blood from hosts. These creatures also give me a few self esteem issues. With my 11 mosquito bites, I decided not to show them off. In doing so, I wore jeans or leggings everywhere I went for over a week, in an effort to hide the cherry red spots on my legs. I endured 80 degree weather and scratching through the thick denim during my school days. I had to use my self control to keep myself from scratching majority of the time, but I couldn’t resist the sweet pleasure of relieving an itch.

Some people are able to prevent the issue of being swarmed by mosquitoes because they have access to bug spray. Unfortunately, I was not one of those people.