Easily the most annoying creature on the trail, mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal on the planet.
More specifically, female mosquitoes are the killers, at least after they’ve been knocked up. The males are chill, mostly eating plant nectar with the other guys, making (compound) eyes at the ladies and hoping for a shot at procreation with one of these murderous bloodsuckers.
That’s not exactly true. People who study these things have found that there is a kind of synchronization of wings flapping between male and female mosquitoes that sets up a unique acoustic signature that the couple can sense, drawing them together for a mid-air dalliance that neither, drunk on nectar as they likely are, will remember.
Before getting pregnant, the females are super sweet, following chemical signals from flower to flower and making the world a more beautiful place, along with their male counterparts, through pollination. There is, for example one orchid almost entirely dependent on mosquitoes for propagation.
But once properly sired in, females change.
Mama’s out for blood.
And in the course of seeking out that protein-rich meal for the development of her eggs, she’ll spread a ton of nastiness. Mosquito-borne illnesses, with malaria being by far the deadliest, account for upwards of a million human deaths per year.
Even more astounding is that only 3% of mosquitoes pose any kind of threat. There are literally thousands of mosquito types, with the great majority of them quite content to leave us alone.
Dust and Tribe spent the last two weekends hosting backpacking trips to Lake Tahoe’s Desolation Wilderness. Al-hamdu lillah wa shukr lillah, these were incredible adventures with great people in a truly magnificent setting. Next time we go backpacking, you should come.
Threatening to mar the experience, however, was the abundance of mosquitoes. Hordes of them, though their presence was largely restricted to dawn and dusk with virtually no sign of them during the fullness of day.
This allowed for some discussion and exploration of their place in the ecosystem and our lives.
From the above, we’ve learned that they are important pollinators. We also know that they are a rich and abundant protein source for fish, bats, frogs, and a host of other hungry critters which, once properly fattened up by their mosquito diet, will go on to feed other animals. We can all appreciate the role that mosquitoes play boosting and maintaining certain animal populations through the food web.
We might also recognize the role the mosquito plays in controlling ours.
Checks and balances are necessary. Hopefully we’ve grown in our appreciation of this reality as the existential threat of global warming begins to finally impress us with its destructive inevitability. Largely attributable to human expansion, we have only just begun to discuss what we as a species might do to curtail the rising temperatures.
In the meantime, the mosquitoes have been doing their thing and killing us off when and where they can. We’ve mentioned here and here our thoughts on the overrated value of longevity and the underrated value of population culling for all species, including ours. Tragic as death is on a personal level, it’s necessary and we will certainly have more of it as God Most High continues, in His Infinite Mercy and Wisdom, to allow for planetary recalibration. We are the apex predator, and we need to be undermined at intervals to keep everybody else, including ourselves, safe.
We’ll further add to the list of mosquito benefits the gatekeeping that they provide in the backcountry.
As mentioned, we spent the last two weekends in pristine, sub-alpine wilderness with nary a soul in sight. These were glorious summer weekends in one of the country’s most popular wilderness destinations. This past winter brought loads of snow and the protracting melting has left lots of residual, marshy pools- perfect for breeding skeeters.
We think that may have scared more than a few people off.
But we’re Muslims. We cover up. That isn’t to say that we are impervious to attack, but it’s more work for the little guys. If we choose to apply some kind of toxic repellant, it will be only sparingly as our skin is simply not exposed.
And here’s something to think about:
Indeed, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a mosquito, and of what is above it
Q2:26
It turns out that mosquitoes suffer right along with us. As beautifully detailed in this blog post, the biting mosquito is in turn bitten by the wee midge.
We feel that there is some room for diplomacy between humans and these little vampires, a truce informed by the solidarity of suffering. Mosquitoes teach us that there is no one and no thing that exists free of trial and adversity.
Life is tribulation. Tribulation sets up a yearning for something better. Belief follows as we build or subscribe to a narrative that replaces our desperation with hope. Community evolves as we collectively embrace a shared narrative, imbuing it with power and relevance. This becomes the truth that guides and shapes our lives and our relationship with all of creation.
Mosquitoes included.
And for at least one person, mosquitoes prove an able muse. One of our adventure participants drafted this gem of a poem in response to his rather challenging encounter with mosquitoes on the trail:
Dear mosquitoes,
Suck my toes
Or actually please don’t
Imagine bites in your boot
It’s like basketball with no hoop
It sucks
You’re being eaten alive
Mosquitos skip the skin
Cuz they want what’s within
Which I guess is beautiful
Never has anyone bitten me this much
I guess it’s an honor to be so delicious
Just kidding it really sucks
God help us all
Anas
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