Once upon a time there were hardly any mosquitoes in this area but in the last couple of years these annoying insects have gradually been moving up the valley and further up into the mountains.
The so-called tiger mosquitoes which come out during the day have also started to arrive causing some problems even in Barga Vecchia.
The “humble” light brown, Common mosquito. Culex pipiens and his country cousin. The brown and slightly striped, Paddy mosquito. Ochlerotatus caspius.
The infiltrator – The nasty, black and white striped, Tiger mosquito. Aedes albopictus.
Mosquito repellent sprays and lotions are now appearing in local shops and anti mosquito nets around beds are no longer a rare sight.
But what was a rare sight last night was not one but two bats flying into the bedroom and circling around for a good 30 minutes.
Were they looking for a snack or were they just simply looking for the way out ?
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While research shows that many bats will indeed eat mosquitoes, it also suggests that mosquitoes constitute only a small proportion of a bat’s diet. This debate over bats’ impact on mosquito populations has been conducted for years with little empirical evidence on either side.
