Cottage Life Media - Cottage bugs: insects and other creepy-crawlies

Why do some people react to bug bites and others dont?

Kate-Lynn Rich, Sylvan Lake, Alta.

It has to do with individual differences in our immune systems, says Tim Geary, director of the Institute of Parasitology at McGill University. Biology time: The immune system is your bodys defence system. When under attack from, say, a mosquito bite, it releases histamine (and other inflammatory substances) to the site of the bite, in reaction to the foreign enzymes in the saliva of the mosquito. The more histamine that is released, the more that spot swellsand itches.

Strangely, some people react dramatically to only one insectmosquitoes or fleas, for exampleor to several insects, or to all of them. Or to none of them. I dont react to bites, says Geary. You cant even tell Ive been bitten.

Well, thats nice for him. But what causes these (unfair) immune system differences? Nobody knows. Whether or not you react to a mosquito is not considered life-threatening, says Geary. So, compared to, say, mosquito-borne illness, it hasnt been studied much.

Plus, while its common to test for allergies to stinging insects (such as bees), allergy tests for biting insects (such as mosquitoes) are not standardized, explains Susan Waserman, an allergist and clinical immunologist at McMaster Universitys department of medicine. Other diagnostic allergy tests use insect venom, but there is no good skin-test reagent developed to test for mosquito allergy. The only option is to test someones reaction to a whole-body extractfrom, literally, a crushed mosquitowhich isnt as precise and makes diagnosis difficult.

Luckily, mosquito bites are rarely associated with any significant allergy or anaphylaxis, says Waserman. Its possible. Its just not common. June 2012

I've always wondered, where do all the bugs go when it rains?

Catherine Hewlett, Oshawa, Ont.

Like people, bugs find shelter when the skies open up. Theyll go just about anywhere they can find protection, says Doug Currie, curator of entomology at the Royal Ontario Museum. That includes hanging upside down under leaves and hiding in the crevices of tree bark, under the leaf litter on the ground or beneath the eaves of cottage buildings.

Insects are fairly robust, but when the rain picks up, all but the heartiest will disappear, says Currie. To an insect, a drop of water is like being hit with a bath-tub full of water. May 2000

We want to repaint our cottage, which is now a dark brown colour, and have considered painting it yellow. However, we recently heard that the yellow will attract more bugs, though I always thought bugs were attracted to dark colours. Can you advise us?

Suzanne DeGroat, Turtle Lake, Ont.

According to Lubomir Masner, a research scientist and entomologist with Agriculture Canada, bright yellow does indeed attract more of some kinds of bugs, particularly Hymenopterawasps, bees, and all of their relatives. There is probably some sort of parallel with their navigation towards flowers, Masner speculates, noting that these bugs see patterns of light rather than distinct shapes. The bottom line is that if you paint your cottage yellow, bees and wasps may mistake it for a giant flower and fly straight for it.

However, maintaining your cottages brown colour will not ensure that it will be bug-free. Bob Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Natures entomology section points out that blood-feeding insects, such as mosquitoes and black flies, are typically attracted to dark colours. Since it appears to be a no-win situation, we suggest you paint your cottage whatever colour you like. October 1991