It just started thundering. Big time! It’s dark. Maybe it will rain yet again. There are no tropical storms in the East Pacific, so this is just regular old thunderstorms for a change. It’s 3 pm MDT.
The heat continues. The breeze comes and goes. Mostly goes. At least it shifted back from the north. It had been a west-south-west wind for a while. And that’s a warm wind that brings even warmer water up towards us, inviting tropical storms to visit. Night time lows are right around 80f but it takes all night to get there. Midnight temps are routinely 85f. That’s sweating hot.
One of the plagues that arrive with temps this warm and rain is the onset of “bo-bos” AKA noseeums, sandflies and more properly, biting midges. These are nearly invisible little flies that bite. They mostly appear near dawn and sunset but they can be present anytime. Their life cycle is 3-10 weeks. Adults are 1.5 – 4 mm long. Once they arrive, they stay for up to 3 months depending on how hot it is. Around town you will see little old ladies waving strips of cloth in front of their faces to keep the bo-bos off. The critters like to fly up noses, in eyes and ears. They are very annoying. And their bites are not to be ignored. They itch and can welt up too.
Right now they aren’t nearly as bad in Todos Santos as they are in Pescadero and points south. This is due to the additional rainfall that has fallen to the south of us. The wetter and the hotter it is, the more bo-bos we have. And they can fly right through most window screens. That’s how small they are! Repellent helps a bit but nothing gets rid of them totally except colder, drier weather.
Biting Midge or Bobo
