I have extensive mosquito bite experience from the Midwest and Southwest, and the bites always cause a red welt. Now that I’ve moved to the Northeast, I find that instead of the usual welt, I get a red welt with a little hard little white bump that pops up in the center. My husband reports the same thing.
Are we being bitten by a different species of mosquito? Or maybe it’s not mosquitos at all?
Hard to say. Reactions to mosquito saliva are very individual and idiosyncratic. You may be less reactive to the protein antigens in one mosquito strain than another person, or even from one mosquito to another, or even be more or less reactive from one day to the next based on your own body chemistry variability. So I guess my answer is: “I dunno, could be, but maybe not”.
Qadgop, MD
I learned the above not at medical school, but by listening to a guy from Harvard on PBS the other day.
The best I can do is give you anecdotal evidence backing your impression. There is a different mosquito fauna in the NE, or at least a different faunal complex ( you may find many of the same species, but in different proportions than you would elsewhere ). And I’ve tended to experience more severe bites out East as well. Complete wih big, hard, white welts.
But what Qadgop says is perfectly true about individual variation - I’ve had reactions like that out West, as well. Just a lot less frequently.
My suspicion is that it’s a combination of factors, including the species of mosquito. But I can’t imagine why different species of mosquito wouldn’t vary in the toxicity of their saliva, so I’m pretty sure that they do.
Sorry I don’t have anything more concrete.
I agree with the others. My experience: I live in D.C. metro area, and mosquito bites result in small, slightly raised welts. My first trip to the Florida Keys I got bit several times one night – large red welts. They were slightly raised, but otherwise flat and about 2" in diameter. I was concerned for awhile – thought I might be having a severe allergic reaction or something. I asked someone who’d been in Fla. for years, and he said they were a different species, and that eventually you build up an immunity and the reaction is milder. My s.o., who was with me, didn’t get bitten at all. But then I was wearing perfume, which can attract them. We’ve been back to Fla. many times since and I haven’t had any problem, but whether it’s because I “built up an immunity” or what, I don’t know.
Well, I live in the North East, and have been bitten by mosquitoes my whole life. I’ve never had a white bump as a result, just large red welts. I get very large welts, between nickle and quarter size, but even people less sensitive to them seem to get fairly sizable welts, maybe the size of a pencil eraser. I’ve never seen what you’re describing on anyone else, though, either.
My guesses would be:
a. It’s not a mosquito bite, but maybe a spider one (sort of sounds like a wolf spider bite)
b. The mosquitoes are walking on a plant that you’re alergic to and never came in contact with in your old state.
Sycorax, I don’t think you can build up an immunity to mosquito bites! They trigger an allergic reaction, and allergies are precisely your immune system going a bit haywire. More exposure doesn’t help.
My sister gets huge welts from mosquitos, too, has all her life, probably will forever. : (
Admittedly, I haven’t caught a mosquito in the act, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they are. I’m getting the bites on exposed skin, not under clothing, not concentrated on the legs, and I get them much more frequently when I go out to play softball near a swampy area. I don’t quite buy the plant-allergy idea–these are bites, with blood, and I’ve never heard of an insect transmitting, say, poison ivy.
Thanks for the ideas, all.
Podkayne - I disagree. I think you can build an immunity to anything (but then again, maybe this is one for Cecil to tackle). When you get allergy shots, they shoot you with miniscule amounts of the offending allergen to build up your immunity. As George Carlin once said, “your immunity system needs practice!”
Hmm, okay, looks like you’re right.
http://familydoctor.org/handouts/232.html
Weird. I didn’t think that’s how it worked. Guess I’d better go do some more reading! Thanks for calling me on the carpet, Sycorax. Did you know there’s a moon of Uranus named for you?
Podkayne - didn’t mean to sound like I was “calling you on the carpet”; simple, friendly disagreement is all; I don’t claim to be an expert on anything (except English grammar), but the medical field is something I try to keep up with. As for my username - no, didn’t know they’d named a moon of Uranus after me; actually, I stole it from Shakespeare (The Tempest).
No fear, Sycorax. I took no offense. Moons of Uranus are named for Shakespearian characters. Recently, a number of “irregular” moons have been discovered, and they’ve been named for characters from “The Tempest”: Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos, and Stephano.