FAIQ #25 Do You Have Mosquitoes in Ireland?
Q. Do You Have Mosquitoes in Ireland?
Answer: Yes - though I usually say no.
I say no because it gives a better impression of the truth than the truth itself does. That’s also one of the reasons I’m the biggest fan in the world of exaggeration.
But anyway, what I mean by saying, no we don’t have mosquitoes, is no we don’t have mosquitoes like you do. If you live in America that is, particularly if you live in the house I lived in.
I’ve never been bitten by a mosquito in Ireland, or if I have, and unlike the times I’ve been bitten by a woman, my body didn’t react to the bite nor was I left a note.
It should be noted that other people in Ireland have reacted to bites though, and some of them probably over-reacted. My own reactions to mozzie bites though have only taken place everywhere but Ireland - even in England.
As I write this on this fine September day in Dublin there is a mosquito on the curtains. I’m looking for the other one because in the few weeks since I left America all the mosquitoes I’ve seen have been in pairs, like nuns. In fairness to them though not one of them has gone for me. They just go right past me like I’m invisible or they’re a former client.
Officially I believe that there are about 20 different species of mosquito in Ireland, and considering the high humidity and how much we boil things before eating them, it’s not too surprising that mosquitoes now live here and don’t just get the ferry from Britain or France.
Eanna Ni Lamhna reckons the reason people believe there aren’t mosquitoes in Ireland is because our Irish mosquitoes don’t carry malaria. Remember, for me it’s not a case that I believe we don’t have mosquitoes, just that everything is much easier if I say we don’t.
And 20 might seem like a big number, but when you think about it 5,000 is a much bigger number.
Culiseta annulata is one of the most common mosquitoes in Ireland, and reports of mosquito biting in late autumn or early spring are almost always attributed to this species. (source)
So yes we do have mosquitoes in Ireland, just not in the sense that they’re a menace like goldfish or radio presenters on television.
Mosquito Watch USA:
• #1 First Bite
• #2 Ugly Start
• #3 Bites & Kills
• #4 Escalation
• #5 Ambush
Read Other Frequently Asked Irish Questions
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
