"William Wixon" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
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But this is the thing we're proudest of. We have, not 61, not 62, but 63
different species of mosquitos in New Jersey! That's more than one
species for every NJ politician arrested for corruption in an average
year:

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/njspp.htm

jsw, glad we don't have chiggers in NH.

But you have blackflies. I've been bitten by them, up near the Canadian
border. Ugh.

--
Ed Huntress


wow, 63 species. i figured there were maybe 3 species.

Impressive, huh? We don't fool around here. I think that Rutgers
Agricultural Extension Service cross-breeds them for toughness and
resistance to toxic waste. d8-)

thank god and knock on wood we don't have blackflies here in s.e. new
york state, or at least like they have in NH. many years ago i went on a
fishing trip with my brothers to NH. never experienced this before. i
opened the car door, stepped out and within 2 or 3 seconds was swarmed
with blackflies. they were in my eyes, up my nose, in my ears and down my
throat. was gagging on swallowed blackflies. in my entire life up to
that point i never had to use one of those hat-net things, they were an
absolute necessity there, was fumbling with it trying to put it on as fast
as possible. if the net got a fold in it and touched your skin they'd
find it and be biting you there, was incredible. they were biting me all
over. i was in a mild state of panic thinking "jeez, if you were stranded
in the wilderness with these bugs they could KILL you!" i mean, either
directly or indirectly, like you'd starve to death or die of dehydration
constantly swatting them off of yourself. maybe we just happened to step
into some localized concentration of 'em, but if it's like that all over
in NH i'd want to shoot myself if i lived there. can't imagine what it
would be like to enter a cloud of 'em like they have in alaska (saw it in
a movie).

b.w.

Yes, blackflies are God's reminder that we're not really necessary to the
continuance of the planet, and that he might decide to dispense with us at
any time. They are the Harpies from Hell. The soul of Satan resides inside
of each one. They are vile, ugly, and mean...but don't get me started. g

My dad went fishing in upper Quebec province once upon a time, without
headgear, and when he got home his head looked like a pumpkin that had been
shot with a few loads of birdshot. And he was born in NH and should have
known better. I'll never forget it, and I was four years old at the time.

--
Ed Huntress