Anyone else come across a new strain of mosquito recently?

Wow SusanLee, insects big enough to grab you and take you away, sounds horrid, will have to keep away from your part of the world! Yes sure my lot are mosquitoes, they have the exact same irritating buzz and they bite, only difference to normal ones is size and propensity for a mid morning feast. What on earth are those enormous creatures you are talking about?

Okay, I exaggerated lol, they don't grab you and drag you into the underbrush. They just jump on you where you stand and have their way with you. I'm kidding, sort of. It took me forever to figure out how to get five pictures in one. That fly gets about an inch long and when it bites, it leaves a nice size hole that will sometimes bleed, not to mention welt up and itch like crazy. I've usually been pestered by them when I use to go swimming, they would be waiting to land on your forehead and pop a hole in you. The largest roach I have seen here are about two inches long. They will gnaw on you while you sleep if you allow them to over take your home. That orange and black ant is called a cow killer here, they can be about an inch long and they're fuzzy. Their stinger is about as long as the back part of their body where it comes out of. I have picked them up with metal tongs and could actually hear the stinger zinging along the metal. You can't step on one of those and think you're going to kill it, especially if you do it on the dirt or grass. I think they wear armor or something. You're only going to squash them with your foot (in a shoe I hope) is if they crawl up on a sidewalk. This is not the right beetle, couldn't find a picture of the one that scrapped my neck a few years ago, but it's close enough. I was changing shirts at work and felt something scrap my neck, reached up and pulled off the biggest beetle I had ever seen here. It was at least 3" long. I threw it down and just stared at it, I was amazed. I think we have two types of scorpions here, neither are deadly, unless you happen to have an allergy I guess. I know there are some out west that are deadly. I still don't want to get stung by one of these suckers. I've also picked them up with tongs and its the same zinging sound as the ant on the metal. One morning many years ago I felt something moving on my face while I was sleeping, I thought it was my hair moving from the ceiling fan. I suddenly realized it wasn't my hair and brushed it off real quick and it was a little scorpion, a little over an inch long. The stinger barely grazed above my lip. It didn't hurt but I felt an odd sensation and it welt up. Fortunately the only insect out of the five that will actually run you down for a bite is that nasty fly. Of course there are other critters here that are big and thrive because of the climate; hot and humid. I would rather live with these buggers than have to deal with Australia's Funnel Web Spider.

Hi, thanks for the wonderful comment, so descriptive. This year I am seeing all sorts of things which I have never seen before, just came home to find a giant emerald beetle in my kitchen sink! Also new varieties of spiders, one completely gold!! and one hideous large thing which had a black and red body and great big hairy legs. The worst thing ever is the centipedes with fat fat indestructible bodies, a bite from one of those means the hospital. This year for the first time ever we've had fire bugs inside with tail bits that light up bright red and go traffic light green when they are killed and glow for ages.

Yes they are pretty indiscriminate about where they bite and seem to burn so much more than the usual bites which are bad enough in themselves. The trick is NEVER scratch them, impossible I know.

Are you just one of those people who doesn't have tasty blood or are your variety just the non biting kind? It is pretty unusual to have to adjust to day sucking mosquitoes.