| This incident has always bothered me and I have never been able to identify the insect that bit/stung me back in 1960 when I was a little girl. But I remember it like it was yesterday and I will try to give a good description of the insect in the hope that someone knows what it is. My mom and I were walking to church in Queens, NY on a warm spring day. I had on a dress with short sleeves. As we were walking I suddenly felt pain on my left forearm - I looked down to see this weird insect in the process of biting/stinging me a second time (the first sting was what caused me to look down to begin with). The insect was about an inch to an inch and a half long - it was a reddish-brown color and was extremely spindly. In fact, the best way I can describe it it to say it looked like it was made out of toothpicks. There was little distinction between the body and the head and it appeared to have some sort of proboscis that it was busy sticking into my arm. It had no wings or stinger or markings of any kind. My mother immediately grabbed it off my arm and I remember its legs waving around when she did so - throwing it to the ground and stepping on it. It made no sound. The two bites it had given me were side by side on my forearm. They looked like little volcanoes - rising up from my arm about a half inch with a distinct hole in the center where the proboscis had gone in. They did not bleed, had no stinger inside, and didn't turn red. But they really hurt. We went home where my grandma made a paste of white vinegar and baking soda that took the pain away. The bites remained visible for about 3-4 days, they did not itch nor turn red. I have since had mosquito bites, spider bites, and been stung by a hornet and bee - the bites looked and behaved like none of these. They simply went down a little each day and the hole in the center seemed to get less pronounced with the decrease in swelling. I have looked for insects that fit what I remember and can find nothing. It was not a large mosquito nor was it a Walking Stick - anyone have any ideas? |
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