Nairobi Fly 11-12-13

The dry season is over, and the wet season is here.  Burundi experience a wetter dry season then normal, and now is experiencing a drier wet season than normal.  The corn is growing, and the bean sprouts are already starting to come up.  Along with the rain has come some interesting insects.  

 For awhile, house flies were also a nuisance in the city.  But, I guess that's expected when cattle and goats roam around in the area.

After some rains, termites will come out.  They come in the evening and are attracted to lights.  They come, and then they seem to die naturally.  They haven't caused structural problems as far as I know, so that is good.  Normally, there aren't that many termites.  Last week, we had a ton!  Someone left the staff room open after sunset.  The termites covered the tables and the floors.

This week, I learned about something new.  There is a beetle called the Nairobi fly.  It hatches from rotting leaves after times of abundant rain.  It's small...about 6 to 10 mm in size.  The circulatory system is toxic, like acid.  If you squish the beetle on your skin, the toxin will hurt you, sometimes severely.  Some people accidently kill them in their sleep, then wake up to find they have a wound from the toxin.  One of my favorite students must have closed his elbow on one when he was sleeping.  Below are some pictures of his arm.  

Another staff member this weekend probably killed one or two while she was sleeping.  She has blisters around her eye, and a hole in her neck.  She found one of the flies and taped it to the staff white board with a warning about the bug.  I will have to remember...when something lands on me to brush it off.  Don't swat!

Nairobi Fly

The inside of my student's elbow.

 

Some references:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070128130446/http://edition.cnn.com/EARTH/9801/26/kenya.beetle.ap/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi_fly