Now that spring is upon us, it really bites that we waited patiently through the winter months and just when we think it’s time for the T-shirts and shorts to come out of storage, we have to go back to the long sleeves and pants or become blood donors to the mosquitoes.
Although we can’t complain too much about the mosquitoes yet, as it is nothing compared to the hoards that we had to deal with in Churchill, Manitoba the end of June, in 1997. When we were there it didn’t take us too long to figure out that we needed a different approach to taking the picture, as there were so many mosquitoes and black flies around the cameras that we were bound to get the bugs showing up in our images. So what we did was to compose the picture, set the self-timer and then walked away drawing the bugs away from the cameras.
So put on the long sleeves and pants, maybe even the bug jacket, and don’t let the blood lusting mosquitoes and other bighting insects keep you from getting out and capturing some great images.
Mosquitoes at Churchill Manitoba ©Mark Degner
The worst ‘squiters I’ve ever encountered was in the White Goat Wilderness just east of the Icefields Parkway. Those hungry little fellas put the bugs in the Yukon to shame with their persistent swarms! Fun times in a tent, miles from anywhere! When we’re cursing the windy days in southern Alberta, we remember the mosquitoes of gentler climes, and feel thankful.
They sure can be awful, what was worse on the Churchill trip was the black flies. The bug jackets kept the mosquitos from biting to much but the black flies would crawl in underneath and then bite. Oh the joys of the warmer seasons.