Biting Insects
Reading an article on the mosquito recently, I was surprised to learn that they show a dislike for yellow-coloured garments. It seems the way to avoid the attentions of the mosquito is to dress up in yellow. The female is guilty of biting humans. The male is a vegetarian. The female midge bites mankind and presumably the male has different tastes. I have never taken the trouble to find out whether I am being attacked by male or female nuisances while by the water. Usually I have a remedy by me. This summer, while fishing in Scotland, I forgot my insect repellent and was almost eaten alive. Most of the insect repellents act as a cover for the scent of the human body, I understand. One day not so long ago, while doing my best to cast over reeds, I found myself being bitten by mosquitoes and nipped by horse-flies while midges crawled through my hair and drove me nearly frantic. I staggered away from the water,
gesturing like a befuddled drunken man. When I recovered, I noticed an elderly lady regard- ing me rather coldly from the top of a bridge. ' Midges,' I said, but she didn't reply. Evidently she was convinced 1 was some sort of escaped lunatic, and for a little while I had given a very life-like impersonation of one.
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