Читать книгу The Mosquito Book - Brett Ortler - Страница 9

Introduction

Mosquitoes may be the most loathed creatures in the insect world—and for good reason. They can easily make a barbecue miserable or ruin a summertime stroll. Worse yet, they transmit diseases that kill millions of people each year and cost the world economy billions of dollars.

Nonetheless, they are also a resilient, wildly diverse group of creatures, and if you take a closer look, mosquitoes are really fascinating creatures. Oh, what am I saying? They are absolutely annoying! If the opportunity presents itself, I wholly encourage you to use this book to take a few out.

That’s also the reason I wrote this book; more than anything, I want to help you—the everyday reader—avoid mosquitoes. The best way to do that is to learn about mosquitoes; that’s why this book covers everything from the basics of the mosquito’s life cycle and how mosquitoes seek out hosts, to the “Big Three” medically important types of mosquitoes and the repellents that can help keep them away. I’m also including a sampling of fun mosquito-related facts and a collection of mosquito-related superstitions that never seem to go away. (Hint: Listerine won’t get rid of mosquitoes.)

In short, I hope this book helps you laugh a little and learn a lot, but most importantly, I hope it helps you escape the worst that mosquito season has to offer.