A quick update on insect sitings. While in Bayanga I saw the best and the
worst. The fireflies at night were fascinating and the lack of tree ants,
which, by the way are still crawling all over my deck, was most pleasant.
Though not a bug, there was a huge spider that had taken up residence in
Paul's bathroom each evening. It was large enough that I opted to use the
outhouse rather than his flush toilet! I also encountered the three most
annoying insects thus far. The tsetse fly, a very large fly with a painful
bite, though not abundant, is definitely present. They also happen to carry
sleeping sickness so that makes them worse. I did get a couple of bites
from these guys but so far I maintain normal sleeping habits.ha ha ha. The
most annoying by far are the sweat bees. They are the size of a gnat and
are totally harmless except for the fact that they have the possibility of
driving one crazy. They are attracted by sweat and will swarm around your
head just waiting to lap up some of those salty droplets dripping off your
head in the heat and humidity of the jungle. I tried my head net but they
find their way in somehow and have a feast of sweat. Lastly are the
chiggers or chigoes in French. These are nasty, tiny little ticks that
burrow into your feet or parts of the body in frequent contact with the
ground. They burrow in and make little egg sacs in your feet. These end up
rupturing and the babies fall on the ground only to re-infect you. They are
harmless enough if you take the time to inspect your feet and scoop them out
with a pin or if you soak your feet in petrol or paraffin. However, the
pygmy children are infested and many of them walk on the sides of their feet
to avoid the pain of stepping on the soles where the chiggers are. Some
kids are so bad they can't even walk. It is very sad that one little bug
can cause so much pain and disability. This is part of the health teaching
they are doing at the mission centre in Bayanga and when they go out into
villages. As for me, I am sure I have little friends in my feet, just as I
did in Zimbabwe. Fortunately, Jan and Aleta and highly experienced chigger
pickers so when they are ripe for the picking I will take my pin for a
visit.
Until my next encounter with kete nyama (sango for bugs, literally
translated to 'little animals'),
Angela
