Subject: Medical Entomologist Needed (Desperately)!

From: [email-masked] (Exceptio)
Date: 26 Jan 1995 15:55:10 -0500

Dear Scientists:

I am an attorney making inquiries for a medical doctor whose bedroom has
been infested with something that is biting her at night, causing her
great sleep deprivation, which now threatens her practice. Basically, she
has been biten on her arms (which are uncovered) and has taken to wearing
a bee-keeper's mask (the desparation is showing), and more recently, she
has been biten on the ears and ear canals. To date, she has been unable to
trap anything. If anyone has any information, your help would be greatly
appreciated.

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From: [email-masked] (Mark Isaak)
Date: Fri, 3 Feb 1995 17:35:42 GMT

>trap anything. If anyone has any information, your help would be greatly

I'm hardly an expert on medical entomology, but here are some possibilities:

Scabies - mites which live under the skin and cause a rash.  Unlikely; the
doctor should be able to recognize this herself.

No-see-ums (Ceratopogonids) - very small biting flies.  They're small enough
to fit through window screens.  They're not really that hard to see,
especially on a light background, but some people might not pay attention to
them.

Bed bugs - fairly small, usually (always?) brown.  Tend to stay in folds and
cracks of furniture during the day.

Lice - even smaller.  Tend to stay on the host's body (esp. in the hair).  I
have no experience myself with either bed bugs or lice.

Fleas - Most people are already familiar with them.  Bites would probably be
mainly on the legs, but this would be the first thing I'd think of if she
has dogs or cats.

Chiggers - immature mites; very small--almost impossible to see without a
microscope.  Found in grassy fields, not indoors, but the bites don't show
up (on me, anyway) until hours or days later.  They itch like hell.  Bites
concentrate on the legs and where clothing is tight.

Mosquitoes - She'd probably notice these.

Black flies - Common around running water.  Readily visible, but some people
might think they're just another fly.  They do, however, like to hover
around the face.

Allergies - a subject I know nothing about.

Entomophobia - yes, in rare cases it is all in their mind.

For the best chance of finding the critter responsible, wait until a few
hours after dark, then turn on the lights and search.

Finally, remember that millions, if not billions, of people around the world
live every day with pest problems more serious than hers and still get
adequate sleep.  Her main problem may not be with the pests, but with her
reaction to them.  I once lived for a month in a flea-infested apartment,
and although the physical discomfort was pretty bad, it was minor compared
with the paranoia of wondering where the next bite was coming from and how
possibly I might avoid it.  Stress counselling would probably help.
-- 
Mark Isaak                "No one is so terribly deceived as he who
[email-masked]           does not himself suspect it." - Kierkegarrd