Spiders or Mosquitoes...Which Do You Prefer?

   With the almost constant rains of spring, mosquitoes are now a huge problem.  The county (and city depending on where you live) used to have leaders smart enough to call for spray trucks to make their rounds at least weekly.  It kept the mosquitoes down somewhat but then folks started complaining about the spray killing the lightning bugs (fireflies for those not in the south) and other critters.   So, in an effort to be "environmentally (and politically) correct" the spraying came to halt.  I agree, the spray used was not species specific so it did kill other critters and something needed to be done but to quit spraying altogether was not the brightest move.  The mosquitoes are now in giant swarms and literally start eating you alive if you are not careful.  There is no entertaining outside which is pretty much mandatory with the pandemic situation that is upon us.  That added another stress on folks.  Anxiety levels are escalating for folks.  Me, not so much as I am accustomed to both being isolated and being with mosquitoes.  I live on the Bayou so both are a constant thing.

  Well, with that onslaught of mosquitoes (and midges) something had to be done.  Now, my life has taken a turn to trying to attract spiders.  I admit to being one of those folks who used to "dust" the cobwebs from every nook and cranny but now those critters are free to web anywhere they please.  Pretty soon, the place is going to look like some horror film set!  Just today, a lovely orchard spider decided to pull her webbing across a potted rose that sits on my outdoor plant shelves.  As I was watering the potted plants, she happily spun her web.  I was all for this so was careful not to disturb her.  She and I will coexist just as I do with the orb weavers that have strung webs across the doors and windows.  These webs give visitors the heebie-jeebies which is all fine and well since no one is supposed to enter anyway...(city mandates about social gatherings and doctor's orders for me.)  The spiders and I have a mutual understanding that they can stay if they do their jobs of catching the biting bugs.  This evening, the small orchard spider had a lovely web that spanned between the rose canes and the night blooming cereus.  She should soon be fat and happy!

A New Favorite!

   Well, I think I just found my new favorite insect!  While out this morning, I noticed a tiny damselfly flitting about the Frog Pond.  Oh, my goodness!  I was so in hopes that this beautiful, little insect was careful not to get too close to those old frogs! Thankfully, it stayed far enough away to avoid being zapped by a froggy tongue.  I watched the damselfly for a few minutes then decided I needed to learn a bit more about this graceful creature.  After snapping a couple of photos, I headed back inside to do some research.

  All I read was just about what I knew already.  Damselflies are related to dragonflies.  They are much smaller with small eyes (in proportion to their heads) compared to the dragonflies large eyes.  Damselflies lay their eggs in fresh water.  Their nymphs have voracious appetites and seem to love mosquito nymphs and bloodworms.  These creatures fold their wings back on their bodies when at rest.  Damselflies work together to catch swarming termites. 

  Wait!  What??? Termites?  Yep!  It seems that adult damselflies love to eat the soft-bodied termites!  Oh, my goodness!  I love this creature!  The Mississippi Gulf Coast has been seeing an increasing amount of termite swarms each spring.  Those critters literally can shut down the town as people go into hiding with lights out.  Millions of the termites take to the skies in the early evening and get into everything...hair, clothing, nose, ears, eyes...ugh!  Now, I find that the damselflies eat termites and I am determined to find a way to attract more to the place.  I would much rather have those than termites...ANY DAY!

Pretty Little Bug Repellent!

  While I love plants and love to garden, I have a bad tendency to let things grow to wild abandon.  Keeping bushes and shrubs trimmed in nice shapes and keeping plants within the boundaries of the garden are all fine and dandy for those who live a controlled life.  I do not.  I am sort of wild and free so why should the plants around me be confined?  Yes, I do trim thing when it is most helpful for the growth of a plant but other than that, I let them do what they want to do.  Sometimes, this gets out of hand.  For instance, the grapefruit trees are pushing 30 some odd feet in height and that makes it a bit difficult to pick the fruit. Perhaps those should have been pruned but it is far too late for that now.  I do love to see plants growing to their utmost even if that means they take over the place.

  
  Down behind the citrus grove near the canebrake, there has been a small lantana growing for a number of years.  Since the bush was not in the way and since I adore the tiny, multicolored blooms, I let it do its own thing.  For years, it stayed pretty much self contained.  I would mow around it and that was just about the most care it received.  This year, however, when I was fertilizing the citrus trees, I threw a large handful of fertilizer into the midst of the lantana bush.  Uh, oh!  It must have needed that extra nourishment as now it has decided to reward me.  The bush has tripled in size and is covered with the orange, pink and yellow blooms!  It sprawls across the ground in huge mounds!

  Am I upset with the new found Goliath sized shrub that threatens to overtake a lemon tree in the next few weeks?  Not in the least.  Since that particular lemon tree has yet to bear any fruit in the ten years we have had it, I have threatened to remove it anyway.  The lantana may as well fill up the space with its happy blooms and dozens of visiting butterflies!  As an added bonus, it is a proven fact that these lovely plants repel mosquitoes! (Since I found out that fact, I am seriously thinking of letting the lantana just take over the entire yard!  Flowers...good.  Mosquitoes...bad!)

If Only Critters Could Talk!

  I managed to slip out into the garden early this morning and was surprised to see how many critters had taken a liking to the chive blossoms.  Usually, the white blossoms are covered with lovebugs but this year there were only a few but joining them was a whole slew of other bugs!  Milkweed bugs, ailanthus webworm moths, longtailed skippers, assassin bugs, honeybees, bumblebees and even mosquitoes were busy on the blossoms.  Those were the ones I recognized.  Many more were flitting and crawling about the flowers.  Some, I was able to photograph.  Others were far too fast!  And then there were those that were too shy to stick around long enough for me to steady the camera in their direction.

  Finding so many different critters interested in the chive blossoms made me curious as to their nectar.  Is that stuff sweeter than say the roses that were blooming just a few feet away?  Does it taste better than the morning glories that fill the fence a directly behind the chive garden?  Are moonflowers, lilies and crepe myrtle blooms just not good enough for the bugs?  To me, the blossoms always tasted garlicky...these are garlic chives, after all.  So what is the big attraction here?  If only critters could talk!

Critter Attack!

  The waiting for an approaching tropical system is sometimes the hardest part.  You scurry around all day preparing and then...wait.  You wait for what seems like eons before the first gust hits or the first torrential downpour.  You can either sit and wait or you can find things to fill the hours.  I prefer to occupy my time even if it means meandering about the hillside.

  Early this morning, I took the old dog out for an walk when I was bedazzled by the way the sun rays filtered through the trees.  The sight made me stop and stare for a bit and then I realized that there was also some sort of tiny critters flying about in those sunbeams.  Ok, so that meant I needed to investigate!  What was flying hither thither in the morning sun???  I wish I had not investigated so closely, however.  Those tiny dots of light in the photograph are mosquitoes!  Hundreds and hundreds of mosquitoes had obviously been pushed out of the marsh with the high tides.  They were up the hillside a bit playing in the sunlight but they sure did not like me interrupting them...or perhaps they did.  I was literally attacked!  Never get in the midst of a swarm of mosquitoes if you do not want dozens of bites.  The old dog and I had to race back up the hillside and into the house.

  So, one of the worst parts of waiting for the arrival of a hurricane is boredom.  That boredom can lead to trouble and a lot of mosquito bites!  The old dog and I have had to change our walking route to avoid the hoards of bugs down near the marsh.  For the time being, we will be happy in the citrus orchard.

No Use Fretting!

  With the huge amounts of rain that the Gulf Coast has seen in the past few months, mosquitoes have multiplied greatly.  They are vicious! Step outside in shorts and a sleeveless shirt and you are just asking for trouble.  Hoards of the pests surround you and start their feeding frenzy.  This worried me a bit as the grandlittles are visiting the Bayou.  I could only imagine the bites that they would suffer.  Mark bought a small swimming pool for the kiddies but, being a worrier, I fretted that the mosquitoes would devour our grandbabies as they played! Something had to be done to remedy the problem!

  PawPaw and MawMaw put their heads together and came up with the idea of a screened tent to cover the pool.  It worked beautifully!  Still a few mosquitoes and flies weaseled their way into the tent and again MawMaw worried.  This evening, however, Mother Nature was at her best!  She was handling the problem in her own way.

  A rather large praying mantis decided that the tent would suit her needs well as a feeding spot.  She climbed up the tent side and started munching those mosquitoes with glee!  The mantis was literally scampering after the pests!  Back and forth, back and forth across the tent, the mantis went all while feeding on the bugs.  MawMaw was not fretting any longer.  With this sort of help, the kiddos will be safe enough! 

 

Minnows and Frogs for Hire!

  Well, now.  A notice was posted that mosquitoes in our area are testing positive as carriers of the West Nile Virus.  We were told to do the usual commonsense things such as empty containers of standing water, use some sort of mosquito repellent, stay indoors in the evenings and use screens on the windows.  I've got most of those covered!  After each rain, the standing water is emptied.  My supply of vanilla is dwindling since I found that it helps in repelling the rascals so I must get more!  By the time evening rolls around, I am exhausted from chores so I am pretty much indoors.  Window screens have always been a must on the Bayou since we have pretty much every kind of insect just waiting to come inside.  We are doing our part!

  Then, there is the Bayou.  That would be rather hard to drain after a rain or any other time.  Sorry but some things are just out of my hands.  I cannot be responsible for the wiggletails, aka mosquito larvae, that are there in hoards.  Mosquitoes and bayous go hand in hand and there is not a lot you can do to remedy that situation.  Mother Nature will just have to do her part with that.  Did I mention window screens???  They sure do come in handy!

  The Frog Pond, on the other hand, is not a problem.  A dozen or so baby bull minnows were tossed in there back during early spring and now have grown to several inches in length.  The minnows are keeping the frog pond free of any larvae and are happy campers in their virtually predator free living space.  Between those and the frogs, the little pond is a pretty happy place. This afternoon while I was out back, I noticed that the frogs must be feasting upon the adult mosquitoes.  My goodness!  Those frogs are FAT!  

  So, while this was not happy news about the virus, with all of the rains we have been experiencing, I cannot say I am surprised.  It has made the area a haven for the critters.  I can only hope that others are doing their part in alleviating the problem.  Maybe I should hire out my bull minnows and frogs!

Kitchen Magic?

  With all of the rains that the Coast has seen for this entire year and in view of the predicted rains to come, I have set about finding something to combat our overabundance of mosquitoes.  The pesky varmints are about to take over the place! Walk outside and you are immediately covered.  Any bare skin is subject to hundreds of bites in just a matter of minutes.  It is really that bad.  Something has to be done.  I empty every container, puddle, leaf, flowerpot and even the rain gauge after every rain but that has almost become an endless job.  The Frog Pond now is inhabited by dozens of fat bull minnows to keep the larvae under control there and the poor birds can never bathe since their private bath is emptied daily.  All of this is good but, hey, I cannot empty the Bayou nor the creek. That is beyond my realm of ability. The local "mosquito control" trucks have yet to be seen down our area as they seem to stay in the more ritzier neighborhoods.  The Bayou is on its own in this fight.  So I try or I stay inside.  Even there, a stray mosquito or two will find a way inside just to irritate me at night.  It is not good, folks.  It is not good.

  That said, I have been trying herbs to help combat the critters.  I figure that it cannot hurt and has to be better than slathering on a bunch of known cancer causing chemicals.  First, oregano was tried.  Not much help and I smelled a lot like a pizza.  Basil came next and while it helped tremendously with the itching from bites, it did nothing to help prevent them.  Rosemary, mint, fennel and even garlic was rubbed on the arms.  None of these seemed to do much other than to make me smell like a walking spice rack.  

  Then, out of desperation, I turned to the extracts lining the shelf.  Anise...no help.  Lemon...no help.  Almond...no help.  I was seeing a trend here.  Perhaps I should give up and spray the stinky repellent on and call it a day.  Lastly....vanilla.  Well, at least it smells good!  I mean, my goodness, who does not like vanilla???  I donned my new perfume and bravely went out to weed the eggplants.  These are planted far down by the canebrake as they seem to be not on the diet of rabbits, deer or raccoons.  There is, however, a boatload of mosquitoes that inhabit the area.  So, as was my habit in trying the new herbal repellents....left arm was herbed up....right arm was bare.  I started weeding.  Ok, so the mosquitoes were swarming about me like they were being drawn by the vanilla scent!  This was not good!  I was on the verge of a slapfest with the critters when I noticed that, while the wings with teeth were swarming the left arm, not a one landed on the arm.  The right arm had ten..twelve...fifteen...no sixteen mosquitoes gnawing away on it!  Left arm was clear....right arm was covered!  Halleujah!  The vanilla seemed to be working!.  

  I have tested the vanilla two days now and both times, the mosquitoes would swarm the arm but never make contact!  The left arm stayed unbitten!  While this may not work for everybody and while different brands of vanilla may make a difference, it appears to be something of interest anyway.  If I can remain unbitten, I will bathe in the stuff if necessary!  Vanilla!  Who knew?  Oh, and by the way, I normally do not push brands on here but I found it sort of a neat coincidence that the name of the vanilla used was Back Bay. Our bay is called Biloxi Back Bay!  I know the vanilla has nothing to do with the area other than being sold here but, hey, maybe it is a sign that I should use it.  At this point, I will take whatever I can get, use whatever works and be happy to be bite free!

Little Helpers

  With our lack of winter, the critters are already out and about.  Critters of the insect type have decided that it is time to wreak havoc on the gardens and on us.  Those dratted mosquitoes and gnats are out in droves and they have no qualms about eating a person alive. Battling these critters is a long term endeavor and not something that can be done with a simple shot of spray and since I abhor sprays, for the most part, I am searching for more natural ways of ridding the place of them. This means emptying things like the birdbath on a daily basis and planting "smelly" plants (as Son calls them) near the house.  Plants such as marigolds, lemongrass, lemon balm, rosemary and even basil help to keep mosquitoes at bay.  Since the Frog Pond seems to be a likely spot for the mosquitoes to lay eggs, I encourage dragonflies to also use the pond as their nursery.  Dragonfly nymphs love to much on mosquito nymphs!  These thing all help but, hey, I live on a bayou and near a creek.  What about those likely breeding spots?

  With the warm weather, the mosquitoes have been busy but Mother Nature has, too.  I noticed thousands of "mosquito fish" (or pot-belly minnows) swirling about the shallows in the marsh.  It seems that the overload of mosquito nymphs is a boon to these little fishies! They are happy campers at the moment.  Their bright blue scales can be seen flashing in the sunlight as they happily chase the nymphs about the brackish water.  While watching them, I had the notion to catch a few to see if I can acclimate them to the fresh water of the Frog Pond.  It would be nice to have a family or two of the mosquito fish living there to help the dragonflies.  Ponder, ponder.

  As an added note, all is well here on the Bayou for any who are interested.  After another round of severe storms thrashed about the place, things have settle down for the night.  There were sightings of at least six tornadoes in the close proximity of the Little Bayou House and at least two known waterspouts in the Bay near the pier.  The sirens sounded for a good hour but we were blessed with no damage.  The Little Bayou House held strong once again.

Dragonflies....Disease Fighting Insects!

  When you think about it, humans are great transmitters of disease. With all the worldwide travel going on these days, anything and everything can hitch a ride even unnoticed.  If a friend of mine traveled back from a trip abroad with a lovely mouse spider hidden in her suitcase, I am fairly certain that much tinier critters slip in with their travel host blissfully unaware.  Now add that to the critter transmitted diseases and thing could just get ugly!  Here lately, it seems that each summer brings a new threat of mosquito borne diseases that threaten to make life miserable, to say the least.  A lot of mosquito transmitted diseases are fatal which should make this high priority with those in charge of eradicating illnesses.  It should be fairly simple....get rid of mosquitoes and you get rid of those diseases....right?  Much easier said than done.  Mosquitoes will never fully be eradicated.  It ain't happenin', folks.  Mosquitoes, like roaches, will be around even when we, as humans, perish. 

  But!  There are a couple of things that folks, like you and me, can do to help!  First, empty those containers with standing water.  Birdbaths are terrible about harboring mosquito larvae and a lot of us neglect them. We stick the ornamental bath in the yard and never think about it again.  Bad idea.  Can you say....breeding haven for mosquitoes?  Yep, clean that thing at least once a week,,,or better yet, twice a week!  Another good idea is to encourage bats to inhabit your yard!  Contrary to what most skittish people think, bats do not hurt you!  They are a huge help in eating those biting critters that fly around our decks and porches.  Put up a bat house and enjoy their nightly show!  If you are so fortunate as to have a water feature in your yard (here, my Frog Pond!), make sure to allow dragonflies to breed there!  A few goldfish will keep the mosquito larvae limited but it will be the dragonfly nymphs that do the most damage to the bad critters.  Plus, once the nymphs morph into adult dragonflies, your yard will be a much safer place.  An adult dragonfly can eat several hundred mosquitoes in a single day!  Amazing!

  Here on the Bayou, it is hard to "empty" standing water.  It is everywhere.  Ummm....the Bayou, itself is "standing water".  That said, we have a ton of mosquitoes.  Those billions of bugs bite and have the potential of spreading disease like butter on toast.  So!  I have been encouraging the dragonflies to inhabit the Frog Pond.  Hopefully, I will be raising very hungry dragonflies!

Predator Meets Predator

  For some reason, the critters here on the Bayou are having a difficult spring.  While the weather is incredibly "spring-like" in accordance to others' standards, it is a tad cooler than normal here.  I don't think this should be a critical factor in the lives of critters since it is not cold...just plumb nice!  As I said before, the songbirds are meeting with many predators and are being obliterated at a rapid pace.  So many nests are utterly destroyed by the predators.  
  
  But the birds are not the only ones facing trouble.  Today while out meandering the gardens, I noticed that the frogs are being their usual predatory selves as well.  While it is fine and dandy that they munch a lot of the bugs, I do wish they would leave the dragonflies in peace. Obviously, as soon as a nymph climbs up on the Elephant Ear Plants to morph into an adult dragonfly, one of the frogs attacks!  Before the dragonfly's wings dry enough to enable it to fly, the frog is munching down breakfast.  The surface of the pond's water is covered with the lacy wings minus the bodies. Sorry, frogs!  I need these dragonflies! Mosquitoes are literally eating me alive out here!

  In view of all of the recent threats of dire diseases carried by mosquitoes, the dragonflies are indeed a necessity.  Without these speedy divebombers, the biting insects will soon take over the place. Living on the Bayou is a bit different than living where the larvae can be controlled.  While it is all good to empty pools, buckets and old tires containing standing water, one just cannot empty a bayou.  The dragonflies have always kept things in balance.  Frogs do their part but the dragonflies are able to reach many more mosquitoes.  So...do the frogs go?  Something has to change...ponder, ponder.

Spiders...keeping us healthier one mosquito at a time.

  Here lately, it seems as if I hear a lot of folks complaining about spiders in their homes and in the gardens.  "I hate spiders!" they exclaim.  In an equal excited state they add, "The only good spider is a dead spider." Sorry but that is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard.  When I try to extol all of the ways a spider helps us, I get the "Well, you have never been bitten by one!" Sorry...yep, I have.  A Black Widow left a decidedly painful bite on my leg.  A number of Wolf Spiders have chomped my feet and hands.  Some yet unidentified spiders have tasted my blood.   As matter of fact, I get bitten quite a bit but have no reason not to like spiders.  The benefits they provide do, indeed, outweigh their demerits.  

  I was down checking the old skiff to make sure the pump was still working after the rain overnight.  I was surprised but happy to spy several nice sized webs still intact in spite of the nasty weather.  The spiders were doing their jobs!  Each web was filled with mosquitoes, midges and gnats.  Yep, even though it is November, those pests still abound on the Bayou but the spiders were working overtime in inclement weather to keep them in check!

Look closely and you can see a number of mosquitoes, midges and gnats entrapped in the spider's web.

  If you are one of those folks who are a bit squeamish about spiders, consider this.  How often do you hear of someone getting bit?  How often do you get bitten by mosquitoes?  It is a fact that more people die from mosquito bites than spider bites.  Mosquito bites are known to spread quite a few deadly diseases.  That said, I think I like spiders even a bit more.  
  
  With all of these thoughts blasting through the brain this morning, I peered over at the spiderweb and thanked all the spiders for doing their part in keeping us healthy.

Do they.....or not?

  My son sent me two plants as a Mother's Day gift.  He said that perhaps they would help with the bug problem here on the Bayou. They arrived at the Little Bayou House well-packed in a large box with lots of the Styrofoam peanuts.  As soon as I opened the box, I knew that something smelly was underneath all of those annoying little things!  I carefully pushed them aside to reveal two very pretty plants.  Oooh!  Plants!  My son knows that I love plants of any kind and especially love ones that have some use.  The tag said that these were Citrosa or the "Mosquito Fighter" plants.  Alrighty, then!  This could prove to be very useful indeed! Living on the Bayou, we have our share of those varmints!

  I placed my plants in the window to await their transplanting into larger pots.  I figured that I needed them to get as large as possible if they were going to help dispel the plethora of pests.  They looked right pretty sitting there so even if they did no more than that, I was happy.  Plus, that smell started to grow on me.  I soon became to like the citronella aroma.  Not bad...not bad at all!  In fact, it was a rather nice change over the doggy smell of Ms. Ez!

  I pondered over just how and where to plant the Citrosas to help them do their best.  In researching them, I found a disclaimer.  Citrosa does NOT repel mosquitoes or any other bugs!  WHAT?  That is hogwash, I thought!  Surely these things must repel something!  The article said "Buyer Beware" and went on to claim that studies show that the mosquito repellent claim was not true. Then how can they be marketed as such?  The article went on to say that buyer should crush a leaf or two, rub it on exposed skin and try it.  If after a few hours no rash has appeared and no mosquitoes have bitten, then, by all means, use it!  What?  Rash?  Did I just read that this could cause a rash?  Yep.  That is what the article stated.  This could cause a rash in those that have allergies.  Again, hogwash!  A lot of plants cause rashes especially in folks with allergies.  So, back to square one.  Does this plant repel mosquitoes or not?  Nowhere could I find a positive answer.  I suppose that it is one of those things that may work for some folks and not others. Whatever!  I am going into this with full confidence that the plants that my son sent, will work!  I will be mosquito-free!  On the other hand, so what.  If they don't do all that is touted, I still have pretty plants and my son still cared enough to think of his mom and I am still blessed to have such a thoughtful family.  Life is good.....even if it is not mosquito-free!  (At least it is doggy-odor free!)

Itching for a Remedy!

I was out wandering the hillside after the latest rainstorm when I met up with the largest "swarm" of mosquitoes that I have ever seen!  It seems that the rainy weather has caused every mosquito in a radius of fifty miles to seek out my Bayou!  (Ok..so perhaps I exaggerated a tad but I was being eaten alive!)  My arms itched like crazy!  I headed to the herb garden for a quick fix to this annoying problem.  First, I grabbed a few leaves to relieve the itching and then a sprig to ward off any future bites!  Yep..it does work but some folks just refuse to believe it!

Serrata Basil grows well in the rainy weather we have been having lately!

My "instant" remedy for the itching of the insect bites was merely a handful of basil leaves.  If the tender plant parts are vigorously rubbed over the bite, within a few seconds the itching starts to abate.  Then after a minute or so, the itching stops completely.  My sweet grandniece, Aero, told me once that she loved my "Magic Plant".  She was here and covered with bites.  I showed her how to pick the topmost leaves and rub them on each welt.  Sure enough, in minutes she was itch-free!  Magic Plants, indeed!

The Thai Basil has flowered and will soon make seeds for next years crop!

The other plant is Rosemary.  I should have had the foresight to rub a bit of this on my arms and face before setting out on my hike.  Usually, a stop to the herb garden can prevent a number of bites from ever happening in the first place.  Rosemary is extremely good at preventing bug bites if it is applied liberally.  Recently, I was told that this did not work at all against fly bites!  It seems that deer flies do not mind the smell as much as mosquitoes!  This evening, I decided to test the Rosemary.  My left arm was covered with the herb while the right was left scent-free.  After strolling about the garden, nary a bite on the left.  The right received five more bites almost instantly.  Ok..enough of that test!  I grabbed another sprig of Rosemary and rubbed down the right arm as well!  I was bug-free and happy! Legend has it that a Rosemary Bush planted by the garden gate will protect the home against evil.  This proves that mosquitoes are evil!  Rosemary does a good job protecting me against them!

Plant a Rosemary Bush by your front gate..legend says that it will protect the home from evil!

Just as a note, the herbs have to be garden fresh.  I have tried the same thing with "store-bought" dried herbs and they fail miserably!  Ahh, the pleasures of having an herb garden!

Fish Trip!

No, I did not misspell the title..it was not a typo. I actually meant "Fish Trip" not "Fishing Trip". This story does not involve me heading out to catch a few fish for my lunch, rather it is a different type of fish tale. One where the fish are actually taking a trip, not through a natural migration but rather a man-made working vacation of sorts. There is a tiny fish that lives in the marshes and in the bayous around here that is making quite a name for itself. These little fishies could very well be classified as heroes! Gambusia Affinis, is a fish that we have always pretty much ignored unless it was needed as bait for larger fish. It is small, never getting more than about two and a half inches long when fully grown. The local nickname is "Pot-belly" minnow and for good reason. It sometimes seems that about ninety percent of these fish are female and these females are always "very" pregnant. I know..that is quite an exaggeration with the ninety percent but the always being pregnant part is not that much of a fabrication as the females are mature enough to give birth at the ripe old age of six weeks. They reproduce at a rapid rate, giving birth to as many as one hundred babies at a time several times a season. You might think this would be a problem at some point but as I said, larger fish feed upon them as do all of the shorebirds. I have even witnessed Garter Snakes catching them in the tide pools during low tide. But back to the story of the travelling fish. It seems that this tiny fish eats masses of mosquito eggs and larvae every day. So many mosquitoes that it has earned the name of Mosquitofish. There is also, the Eastern Mosquitofish which is the Gambusia Holbrooki. They are very much alike and again this one is locally called "Pot-belly" for the same reason as the other. Now, these minuscule minnows with their ample appetites are being raised on fish farms in Mississippi for use worldwide for mosquito control. After Katrina, these fishes were used all over the Coast to battle the many mosquitoes that bred out of control in abandoned swimming pools and other stagnant water sources. The latest attempt at this use is in the earthquake stricken Haiti. Thousands of the tiny Mississippi raised fish are being shipped to Haiti to eat the mosquito larvae. This is in an attempt to prevent massive outbreaks of Malaria and other diseases that are spread by the insect. Thus, our wee water friends are headed thousands of miles away to do some very important work. Work hard, Little Friend..eat hearty..save lives! I guess in a sense, this tiny little Mississippi fish is not so small after all!