I have been getting these bites that swell enormously and itch for days. I don't react much to mosquitos but I thought maybe it was a new type. Now, I'm discovering that it is probably an ant biting me and I have a big reaction to it. Really irritating since they generally bite me inside my clothes, not fun places. I think it is the ants that are quite small and that they get on me when I'm gardening or come into the house on the cats. It's given me a whole new reason to hate ants, the mealy bug farming is another mark against them.
I've also gotten quite a few bee stings in the last month. During the dry season the bees are all over my ponds and often on the water hoses as well. I grab them inadvertently and get stung.
Orchid bonanza
Extranjera, so sorry to hear of your trouble with ants...I hate ants too--they protect aphids and move them around on my plants. To control them, I dissolve half a teaspoon of detergent, a drop or two of vegetable oil, and a bit of fresh chili (remove the pips because they'll clog the sprayer nozzle), in 350ml of water in a spray bottle. Be careful not to get the solution in your eyes! Just do your best to hit the ants, not the leaves--too much detergent application will remove the the protective wax on the leaves. :-)
Hi Alileo! Thanks! It took me a while to get the hang of growing orchids, but persistence really pays off. Extranjera, I'm sorry to hear about your bug troubles. Ant bites can be nasty. The worst ones out here are weaver ants. They are really large and aggressive. Luckily I live too high up to be bothered by them, although once a queen managed to get up to our flat and started a colony on a basil plant. Luckily I spotted her when she only had about 2 workers, or we'd have had a very serious problem.
I have a major phobia of bees. When I was a toddler, I used to get stung several times a week because there was a hive near our home. I don't remember it at all, but it's definitely there in my subconscious, because I'll go absolutely berserk if one comes near me now.