I tell ya Lil us Skeeters has been aroun fer bout a hunert million years.
On the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica at the point where the Barú river empties into the sea there is a town called Dominical. Near the river in a swampy area where nobody has yet figured out how to build a house live Ma and Pa Skeeter and Lil Skeeter. One day Pa, perched on a twig with Lil, was recounting the great triumphs of the Skeeter clan.
"I tell ya Lil us Skeeters has been aroun fer bout a hunert million years and we's got a history ta be proud uv. Who wud think thet anything as tiny as us cud cause so much havoc fer them Homo sapiens? Ya know Lil, us Skeeters kin claim credit fer killin more uv them humans than any other species. Not tigers ner bears ner sharks ner crocodiles, not even them poisonous snakes kin claim as many kills."
"Wow Pa, thet's awesome!"
"Even more Lil. I bet we done killed more then all uv them others put together. We may be little, but we packs a powerful biological wallop. Our species kin carry malaria an yellow fever from one uv them humans to another, and just malaria done killed more people than any other disease, over a million a year fer more years then you kin count. Thet's even more then they done killed uv each other in all their crazy wars put together."
"But Pa, ain't them humans supposed ta be smart. Why don't they do sumpin bout us Skeeters. Kin't they hurt us."
"Well Lil, they is supposed ta be smart, but fer being smart they shur duz dumb things. Like one time they even thot they wuz gonna exterminate us Skeeters. They invented this stuff they calls DDT and spread it all over the place. Sure they killed a bunch uv us, but the ones they killed wuz the weakest. And, not only thet, but they killed off a whole mess uv our enemies, ya know, like birds, bats, frogs, gekos, fish, spiders, dragon flies an all kinds uv other stuff thet eats us Skeeters. They even poisoned their-selves with thet DDT stuff, imagine thet. But then without no enemies we came back strong. I mean when yer Ma lays eggs she lays lots uv eggs and when there ain't no fish in the swamps ta eat our larva an there ain't no frogs in the puddles ta eat our young uns an all them birds and bats can't reproduce so well cuz the poisons dun messed up their innards, well I'll tell ya Lil them was the days."
"Listen Pa," interjects Ma Skeeter, "I's gonna go get a meal ta night cuz I needs ta lay a mess uv eggs tomorrow. Why don't you come along an bring Lil, cuz someday soon she's gonna have ta suck blood an lay eggs too. We'll show her how its done an maybe spread a little dengue er encephalitis while wer at it."
"Great idea Ma. How about it Lil?"
"Gee Ma an Pa cud I? That ud be so soooo coooool. But Pa is them humans still poisoning everything with thet DDT?"
"Naw Lil, now they's got worse stuff an they sprays it out uv flying machines they calls airplanes. Ya see, they thinks thet they is the only creatures on this planet what counts and thet they kin jus kill anything else thet eats the same stuff they eats. So when sompin else wants a bite uv the plants them humans eats, well they flies around in one uv them airplanes and sprays poisons all over the place. Then it's like Skeeter heaven. All them frogs an fish an spiders an geckos an all them other nasty things dies, but we kin reproduce so fast thet the ones uv us thet survives has it real easy an then we's immune to them poisons. An not only thet, but them humans is still poisonin their-selves with all thet stuff. It gits in ther water an ther food. Kin ya think uv anything so dumb as ta put poison on sompin ya's'gonna eat er drink? They evun has the stuff in cans ta spray it all over ther houses. Unbelievable!"
"Yeh Pa I sees what ya mean. But Pa I hears they's trying ta git rid uv us Skeeters by gittin rid uv all the places where we breeds."
"Ha! Did ya see all the trash on the beach after thet ther Holy Week they calls Semana Santa? Us Skeeters kin breed in anything thet holds water, even a bottle cap. Them humans left enough breedin places around fer us Skeeters ta produce millions an millions uv younguns. They talks bout cleanin up ther own waste, but ther's always enough trash layin aroun fer us ta breed in."
"Hey Pa, gether up Lil. Lets git goin. It's gittin dark an it's startin ta rain. Jus perfect fer a blood feast."
"Wow, Ma en Pa, this is gonna be so cooool."
The Skeeter family sets off along the edge of the wetland flying close to the ground through the low lying vegetation. They pass by several houses with varying amounts of litter outside and eventually come to one with lots of plants and trees, but no trash.
"Let's go in here Pa." Says Ma. "We don wanna spread no diseases ta the people thet leaves lots uv breedin places fer us Skeeters, but this here house looks like the kind uv human we kin do without. Lil, you remember thet when you's old enough."
"Awright Ma. But let's go in. I wants ta see ya suck thet blood."
The Skeeters look for a way to enter and quickly find a crack where they can crawl through to the inside.
"Look Pa, they's a sleepin, an they ain't got no Skeeter net. This is gonna be easy pickins."
"Hey Pa, what's a Path uv the Tapir Biological Corridor?"
"What you talkin bout Lil. Where you hear bout thet?"
"Right on this here T-shirt hangin on this here chair, Pa. See."
"Oh shit! Look here Ma. This place must belong to one uv them wierdo ecologists. They probably don't use no poisons. This place is probably jus crawlin with frogs, an geckos an all sorts uv scarey stuff. Some uv these places has even got bats and spider webs.
These eco-nuts is dangerous. We better haul ass. You know how many uv us Skeeters one bat kin gobble up in one night?"
"Rivet Rrrrrivvvet."
"What the hell was thet."
"Rivet, rivet. - ker whap-slurp."
"Pa, Pa, where's you at?"
"Rivitt, rivitt, rrrrivvvet -ker whap-slurp. Rrrrivvet, rrrrrivvvvet - ker whap-slurp."
The Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, under the leadership of ASANA, proposes to restore natural habitat and natural balance and help people to live in harmony with their environment.
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