We spent a lot of time camping when I was growing up. We had family camp, church camp, camping on the road, while not having a home…tons of camping. Sometimes bugs would get in our tent or space. One of the common bugs in the Northwest had long legs, and big wings compared to its body. It kind of looked like a large mosquito. We were told it was a “Mosquito Eater”, it’s a good bug and we want it around, it will take out the mosquitoes, so we don’t get bit as much. This information was taught to me, and I taught it to all the littles I was outside with. It’s a mosquito eater, it protects us 😊.
I was in my 40’s before I looked it up. The “mosquito eater” is technically a Crane Fly. It has more nicknames and technical names too. But for the sake of this story, you can google the “Crane Fly”.
It doesn’t eat mosquitoes! As a matter of fact, a large portion of them go their entire life without eating at all! (10-15 days). Those that do eat, nibble on nectar. I was having a good conversation with one of my aunts about the “Lies we learn as children”, and I laughed about the mosquito eater and how I believed that they ate mosquitoes. The look on her face was priceless – she said “What?”. Then I really laughed. She did not know either. I pulled up Wikipedia and showed her the “Mosquito eater” was the crane fly and it’s a vegetarian.
Years later I was hanging out with an older aunt, my mom’s oldest living sister now and there was a bug. I chuckled and brought up that for most of my life I thought they ate mosquitoes. I admitted it in embarrassment, and she gave me a look that said “What?”. Then I broke into laughter and explained to her that they didn’t, they were just a different bug and had nothing to do with mosquitoes at all – well except that like the same types of habitats. She shook her head and said well, she didn’t believe they “Ate” the mosquitoes but that they stung them or something. I offered to look them up with her. May Flies or Mosquito eaters don’t have anything to do with actual mosquitoes at all. It’s just another lie we learn in childhood.
When I found out mosquito eaters don’t eat mosquito’s I felt horrible. I remembered all the children I told the same story to. How many kids I taught that it was a good bug, and it protects us. In truth it doesn’t hurt us, but they are not going around killing all the mosquitoes, so you don’t get bit either. I truly hope the kids I told the story to eventually look it up and assume I was just telling them the story, so they wouldn’t be scared. When I found out that’s what I thought. I thought my grownups lied to me so I would not be afraid of a little flying bug. It was years later before I found out that my grown-ups believed and taught me something that was not true.
When I get upset at me that I must be bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, better…, I remind myself that it is just a lie I learned in childhood. Things I thought were there to protect me, may just be there – like the Crane fly. It is my responsibility as a grown-up to learn the truth. (Even if it is boring.)