Demon no see’ums, Mortal lobsters, phantom-load appliances

Q: What are no see’ums? I don’t see them at all but they sure bite me. — Shirley, Santa Barbara, California

No see'um poised to suck blood [University of California, Davis: Bohart Museum of Entomology]

A: Warm May sunlight trickles through overhead leaves upon an unsuspecting victim. He reads beside stagnant birdbath water — no see’um breeding grounds. Zap! The invisible female silently wings in, lights almost weightlessly, and, without giving the slightest pain sensation, sucks his blood.

No see’ums are flies: tiny, biting flies in the family Ceratopogonidae. You don’t see them because they are smaller than the mesh of a screen door — 1/16th of an inch (1.6 mm) long.

The no see’um (always a female) slices skin with sharp mouthparts and injects saliva into the bloodstream to pool the victim’s blood just under the skin surface. She sucks blood with a short snout (shorter than the mosquito’s) to gain protein she needs to make eggs. We rarely feel the bite.

Within 24 hours, however, the small flat red spot can become excruciatingly itchy (it’s the saliva) and may swell to a spot one to two inches across that takes days to heal. Scratching, of course, makes it worse — maybe doubling the healing time, maybe causing an infection.

No see’ums bite humans, domestic and wild animals, and birds but are not known to transmit diseases in the United States. But in Africa and South America they spread parasitic worms, amoebas, and viruses. "These diseases, including one with the strange name, ‘bluetongue’, are more damaging to livestock than humans," says Steve Heydon at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

They have a virtue, reports Heydon. Tropical no see’ums pollinate the cocoa tree — our source of chocolate.

Further Reading:

biting midges, no-see-ums, by C. Roxanne Rutledge-Connelly, University of Florida

(Answered Sep. 12, 2003, Updated June 20, 2009)

Q: Is there an animal that lives more than 1000 years? If so, what is the animal? — La, Houston, Texas

An American east-coast lobster extends its clam-crushing claw, offshore, Maine. [NOAA]

A: It’s highly unlikely any animal lives 1000 years. Certain fish, crustaceans, or reptiles do grow throughout life and, therefore, age little. "Some organisms seem to be potentially immortal," says the Encyclopedia Britannica. — barring accident or disease.

A lobster, for example, grows throughout its life: molting (i.e., shedding) shell after shell. He shows almost no aging or evidence of muscular disease. He remodels his entire neuromusculatory system over his lifetime. Catch a lobster by a claw and that’s all you get: a claw. He breaks it off as automatically as we sneeze and grows another the next time he molts.

A four-pound (1.8 kg) lobster is a good feast but the biggest one caught — in 1977 off the coast of Nova Scotia and sold to a restaurant in New York City — weighed 45 pounds (20 kg). How old was he to grow so big?

The normal life span of a California spiny lobster is "easily 30 years, but who knows?" Says Kristine Barsky, a senior marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game and coauthor of California Lobster Diving. Biologists can’t tag them effectively because they outgrow their shells (molt) anywhere from twice a year, when young, to every two years, as adults.

"New technologies exist now," says Diane Cowan of the Lobster Conservancy, "that now allow us to tag lobsters internally so the tags are kept throughout molting." With this technology, we are tagging large lobsters and eventually may learn how old huge lobsters actually are.

However, "I believe that lobsters would not live indefinitely in a perfect environment," says Barsky. Eventually, they will stop growing and then they will be unable to maintain their bodies. We know abalone stop growing and start losing shell because we’ve been able to tag them. "A lifespan of 100 to 125 years for east coast lobsters and 50 to 60 max for spiny lobsters is all I would hazard to guess."

So, that’s it. Even our best candidate for animal immortality stops well short of 1000 years.

Further Surfing:

California Department of Fish and Game: California spiny lobster

The Lobster Conservancy: Ask the Lobster Doc

Northeast Fisheries Science Center: Fish FAQ

Phantom-load appliances

Q: My sister likes to unplug all of her appliances, like her toaster, because she believes it saves energy. Is she right? — Chrissa, Bemidji , Maine

A: Yes and no. When most appliances are switched off, they’re off and no current flows. Consequently, unplugging most appliances does not save electrical energy. Toasters, blenders, vacuum cleaners, and such use no power when turned off. Any device, of course, with a clock, display, or indicator that remains on like an automatic coffee maker, uses some power but it’s negligible (milliwatts). Remotely controlled devices (for example, garage door openers) need some small "stay alive" current but, again, it’s tiny.

Pulling the plug on a color TV might be worthwhile. That can save 50 % of the total TV energy spent. The TV’s "standby" mode is costly. A 27-inch color TV costs 1.3 cents for an hour’s watch. Pulling the plug is the only sure way to turn it off. Clicking the "off" button on the TV remote — won’t! Likewise, pull the plug or switch off the surge protector on your computer, monitor, printer, and copier. Their "standby" mode costs you bucks, too.

In addition to possible savings, unplugging does lessen the danger of an electrical fire due to a frayed cord or some other defect. Unplugging an appliance that’s used near water (for example, a hair dryer) can prevent an electrical shock if the appliance falls in the water.

By the way, a friend once tried to stop his electric meter from spinning by turning off every appliance. He couldn’t do it. Elusive clocks (in the oven whose plug he couldn’t reach) and displays foiled his attempt.

(Answered Sep. 12, 2003)