Do Mosquitos Really Color Code Their Victims?

Image Credit: Colfra/Unsplash

Besides being notorious bloodsucking vampires, can someone please tell me exactly what good or service mosquitos serve? Do they have a little mosquito Red Cross Center where they deposit pints of blood they later use in transfusions for malnourished mosquitos needing blood?

They say that mosquitos play a substantial role in our ecosystem. Yeah, right. So, male mosquitoes transfer pollen from flower to flower, which fertilizes plants and allows them to reproduce. Can’t we just leave that pollination process to the bees? Mosquitos are also part of the food web for fish, birds, bats, frogs, and flies. Oh happy, happy, joy, joy! Can’t the birds, bats, frogs, and flies munch on something else like Doritos, Fritos, potato chips, trail mix, or a nice juicy worm?

But get this, female mosquitoes are the culprits who bite people and animals to get a blood meal. Most female mosquitoes cannot produce eggs without a blood meal. Well now, can you say infertility boys and girls? Male mosquitoes do not bite people and animals. Is that so? To me, a mosquito is a mosquito. I apologize to all of you Culicidae lovers out there, but these little flying insects aren’t my cup of tea, or coffee, or wine!

Image – Creator: HAYKIRDI | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

It seems as though mosquitos are attracted to certain colors. Wait, so mosquitos are the vampire-biting fashion police prone to color-coding the shades of clothing their preferred victims wear? Are those Pantone colors by chance? And who do these mosquitos think they are? Louis Vuitton? Coco Chanel? Karl Lagerfeld? Gucci? Vera Wang? Oscar de la Renta? Jimmy Choo? Versace?

It seems like red, orange, cyan (blue-green), and black tend to attract mosquitos while colors like white, green, blue, and purple repel them. The real question is, what if I wear a color that attracts and one that repels at the same time? Hmmm. So then, I turned to the colors in my outdoor living space since I spend a lot of time on my deck. It is suggested that when selecting colors to avoid mosquitoes, consider white wood, metal, plastic, or wicker furniture over black or dark bronze iron. Guess who has black iron outdoor furniture?

The recommendations also suggest when selecting cushions, doormats, and decorative accents, look for items in blues, purples, greens, and white to lower the likelihood of mosquito problems. Well now, guess again who has bright tropical cushions on the front porch, bright red flower pots, and deep gold/ruby red/tan cushions on their deck?

No, I did not consult my mosquito handbook when selecting colors to wear outdoors and what colors to decorate my outdoor living space. Does this mean that I have to walk around with marigolds, citronella candles, and insect repellent every time I sit outside to enjoy the great open-air space I am privy to? UGH, what a nuisance! 

Image Credit: Dave Granlund/Gaston Gazette

Home Invasion

Image Credit: kai Stachowiak

When is enough, enough? Let me begin by saying that this post is not about a burglary in the sense as we know it. So you can put your mind at ease about that. However, you may probably be a little more disturbed about the type of home invasion I am referring to as I go on.

In many posts of the past, I wrote about deforestation, focusing on displaced wildlife, and destroying our healthy ecosystem. Why are we continuing to bulldoze through those natural habitats that are home to many creatures that we should just leave ’em be?

As I look around our area where many malls are looking like ghost towns, I ask a simple question, why aren’t we making an effort to repurpose those spaces and buildings where companies have gone out of business? Now, once again, let me make this disclaimer that I am in no way opposed to progress, growth, and development. I always say there is room for improvement but at what cost?

The home invasion I’m referring to is now focused on the desert. Yep, you heard me right, the desert. 🏜 A sustainable utopian city is planned to be constructed in the American desert at the tune of $400 billion dollars. Nope, I am not referring to updates in Las Vegas either. Planners are currently scouting for locations that possibly target Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and the Appalachian region.

Image Credit: Circe Denyer

Well folks, Telosa, this 150,000-acre proposal promises eco-friendly architecture, sustainable energy production, and a purportedly drought-resistant water system. Now, by no means am I knocking this project, but do we really need to start invading our desert regions some more? Would you be willing to venture, live in the desert, and invest in this type of utopian dream?

Telosa, BIG and Buchareststudio

The next question I wonder about is what will happen to all of the indigenous desert creatures, flora, and fauna? Once their home is invaded, where will they go?

I’m good where I am. I love our trees, wildflowers, birds, deer, and other members of nature, although we have our share of pests that I don’t have a substantial problem with right now. I appreciate our fresh air, which is a luxury in many areas these days. But I do have a request. If there are any billionaires who by chance may be reading my blog right now, can you help a sista out with a donation of some of your spare pocket change? There’s a lot that I can do to help so many with just 1% of $1 billion dollars! 🤑 Just 1% that’s all.

Cry, Our Beloved Planet

Image Credit: Keith M.

I felt the shift, it’s been going on for decades now

not enough people paid attention, no one tried to help me

I have been battered and abused for a long time now

me, the mother provider, the birther of new life

I have been sending out warning, after warning, after warning

seeing the jarring images of my ecosystems under stress,

rising temperatures, increased fires, violent storms ravaging and damaging,

drought, pest invasions, glaciers melting, displaced wildlife

I am watching it all unfold, human causes, human denials

my temperature intensifying, my body metastasizing with illegal toxins

drastic changes where seasonal differentiation only blends together

with mounting disasters I ask if people will remain complacent and complicit

while my climate levels rise and humans turn to look away

my demise is long-term resulting in much suffrage, so much damage

I cry, oh how I cry, looking at what you’ve done to me, letting me erode and corrode

I must ask one important question, will you just sit there and continue to do nothing

watching me die, wasting away, as if this is not your problem at all?

I watched the haze blurring the sun over the past few days. It’s actually smoke floating in a path that traveled from the west coast and has now landed on the east coast. It’s so heartbreaking actually. We are merely getting a whiff of the catastrophe happening to people who are victimized once again by these wildfires that are sprouting up due to the drought. Any little spark, even from the muffler of a car can create some catastrophic situations in our forests, dominoing into the mass destruction of homes, businesses, and life.

I know it’s no secret that we have been experiencing climate change for years now. The scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect was first identified (nrdc.org).

When I step outside and scan over the flora and fauna in my yard this morning, I am grateful, humbled, inspired, and filled with a sense of tranquility watching the fruits our mother planet produced. I ask myself daily, in order to continue watching the beauty of nature as I look at it right now, what can I do to protect and help mother nature flourish? I may not have the scientific answers or environmental finesse, but there is something I do know. I can certainly do my part to make sure I am not contributing to the problem, but being proactive as a viable contributor to the solution, no matter how small or big that may be.

Our beloved planet is crying and suffering. Are we truly trying to comfort her and relieve her of her pain? Nature is my muse of creativity. Can we do better to protect her from further abuse? Or will we continue with business as usual, none the wiser to her suffrage?

Image Credit: Keith M.

I Felt the Earth Move Under My Feet

Image Credit: Bartek Ambrozik

It’s still the talk of the town. On Sunday, a 5.1 earthquake rumbled through our area. For a few seconds, no one seemed to be aware of what was happening since such occurrences as earthquakes are uncommon in our neck of the woods.

After my “WOW” moment from learning where the origins of this shaking came from, I had to think if the earth continues to show us her discomfort in a world shattered by a global pandemic, massive unrest, and the lack of care we show Mother Earth.

There are unlikely natural disasters hitting areas that have never seen flooding, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, and long-term drought before.  There are areas that have never seen invasions of insects like locusts, killer hornets, red velvet or cow killer ants, kudzu bugs, or the strings of shark attacks on the coasts and shorelines of crowded beaches.

Storms are more violent, glaciers are melting at alarming rates and the invasion of wildlife and insects is keeping us on high alert, but are we taking this as seriously as we should? Climate change is real and is not a hoax. I don’t have to be a meteorologist or scientist to see the extreme changes in our atmosphere and environment since my years of growing up over 5 decades ago. I believe Mother Earth has been trying to tell us something for quite some time now. Deforestation, whether we want to admit it or not is gravely affecting our health, wellness, and ecosystem. We are building massive structures too fast and tearing down what we no longer want in our landscape even faster.

Image Credit: Lisa Christine Tam

There is a massive crisis going on around the world and we aren’t paying any attention until we find ourselves in the midst of catastrophe. Then we ask the question, “How could this have happened?” Remove the blinders, take a look around, and pay attention to what’s going on. Mother Earth has been speaking loudly for a very long time now, but we have continuously pushed the mute button and dismissed her warnings.

If we don’t pay attention and respond accordingly to her cries, we will quickly find ourselves swallowed up in an earth-shattering predicament that it will be too late to respond to or get out of.

Taking Climate Action as We Commemorate 50 Years of Earth Day

Today we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s theme is “Climate Action.”

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event. Earth Day led to the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States, including the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Image Credit: Reason Magazine

Click here to find out more about what you can do to bring greater awareness to Earth Day. It’s time for citizens to call for greater global ambition to tackle our climate crisis. It’s time to stop talking and begin upping the ante to save our planet, so we can protect our future. This is a fight for our health, wellness and saving all of God’s creation. Thank you to everyone fighting for environmental awareness, and for your responsible practices to save and improve nature’s ecosystems.

Change…we are in this together…we share one planet no matter what corner of it we inhabit, no matter our religion, race, creed, culture, political affiliation or socioeconomic status. If one perishes due to constant neglect, polluting, and abuse to our environment, we all perish. What’s someone else’s problem today can quickly become our problem on a much more massive scale tomorrow. Just sayin’.

🌎🌍🌏

Her Nightmare of Family Values: The Trees Cried, the Deer Died

Sheila Brown

(A Short-short story)

The roaring sounds intensified in the forest as streams of tears dripped from the tips of leaves. Horror gripped the gut of bears, opossums, and raccoons. They fled seeking safe haven hiding in a remote and quieter place in the woods. With the slow-motion crash of tall trees being bulldozed by great machines, cries of agony resonated throughout the families of indigenous foliage. The trees were crying “Why are you killing us?” as they fell, no longer a sanctuary for birds and squirrels, a provider of food for many animals, or a natural air filtration system for the family of humans inhabiting the land.

Paul Brennan

A herd of deer began to run, dodging the death of their fallen comrades of nature. Finding their way to a clearing, they were disoriented as to where they were going, but they kept on galloping one behind the other, away from danger. Suddenly, screeches from burned rubber resonated from the pavement and vehicles began to hit the family of deer like pins falling down in a bowling alley. Crashes hurled through the air like detonated bombs, as witnesses cried, “they came out of nowhere!”

But nowhere was somewhere even if the drivers didn’t know where that ‘where’ was. The value of many families was interrupted and destroyed, as the domino effect of progress collapsed tragically with every family it touched in a onesided fatal swoop.