West Nile Virus and what can we do about it
West Nile Virus is an emerging infectious disease that made its first appearance in the United States in 1999. The microbe that causes the infection belongs to a group of disease-causing viruses known as flaviviruses, which are usually spread by ticks or mosquitoes. People who contract West N ...
Author: raul ionut galusca
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Page from "Dragon Flies and Mosquito Control"
Dragon Fly Eggs (highly magnified).
"With the greatest interest he watched the happy dancing natives in their child-like exhibitions of glee, and understanding the Spanish language, he wondered what connection the word "mosco," which means a large fly, could have in converting a sleepy old hamlet into a bedlam of noises, associated with so much joy. But as all the noisy merry-makers had uplifted faces, one glance at the skies, told him that the "moscos" were dragon flies which had descended on the hamlet in huge swarms, literally filling the air. A short walk brought him to the place of the general storekeeper (from whom he bought coffee), who, with some of the plantation owners, was contentedly watching one of Nature's marvelous displays that represented great commercial value to them. These men of the higher and educated classes, explained to our coffee-buyer, that, when the dragon flies came in such numbers, the yellow fever, which interfered so much with the labor employed in their enterprises, would be entirely routed, as the flies came to prey on the mosquitoes that convey the fever, and in a short time, would completely exterminate them. They further told him that all of the natives knew the value of dragon flies, and early taught their children never to kill a single one, the information having been handed down for centuries from generation to generation.
This huge migration on the part of these valuable creatures occurred in the fall of each year. Thus we see that information of incalculable value was indeed ancient knowledge centuries before our noble American scientists made their wonderful discovery in Cuba.
MICROSCOPIC INVESTIGATION
As the food of dragon flies is principally mosquitoes and other small insects, the student will find great interest and good entertainment in the study of the scatology of these creatures, the necessary accoutrement being a lower-power microscope, such as can be bought from any optical-goods dealer, a few concave watch glasses, and a vial of peroxide of hydrogen. To obtain the best results, the large dragon flies ought to be captured as late of an evening as possible. They are then placed under a convenient glass globe over the bottom of which is spread white paper. The next morning on the paper will be found several small pieces or pellets of excrement. These are then placed on the watch glass, and a few drops of the peroxide are poured on them. An effervescence will be observed; and after that subsides, the little masses will have fallen apart, the peroxide having dissolved the mucous that binds the individual pieces together.
The Mosquito & West Nile Virus
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Natural Health Treatments
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The Mosquito & West Nile Virus
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