What a wonderful, delicate-structured thing is a flea - or, indeed, any of the creatures named and illustrated in a new book Irish Indoor Insects. Published this year, it is by Doctors James F. O'Connor and Patrick Ashe. The flea, they state was, in the past a familiar insect in Ireland; a preserved specimen was discovered during the excavations of Viking Wood Quay. In 1940, it is gravely noted that specimens occurred on the back strand of the North Bull Island, Dublin, where thousands of bathers congregated during the summer months. Presumably the fleas had hopped off discarded clothes and were waiting for new victims!
And then the authors mention flea-circuses. Anyone remember? What about those cinemas known as flea-pits? Hoovers, we are told, along with improvements in hygiene, have made the flea a rarity in this country. But the authors do warn: they may still be found in hotel rooms "where they are carried accidentally by visitors. If you find one, quickly pull back the bed clothes and dab it with a bar of moist soap."
Pause. This is not a flippant book. It is serious and, from a practical point of view, worth having if you are at all susceptible to insect bites - or just interested in the creatures around you. Wasp stings may be serious: they are never something to be shrugged off. In fact, between 1949 and 1969 in England and Wales, seventy deaths were caused by such stings. Usually from respiratory obstruction or shock. And victims can die within an hour. Not to scare you. But if you are fearful or allergic, there are wasp repellents to be bought in chemists' and also substances to spray on if you do get stung.
Midge bites? They affect, the book says, tourism and forestry. Five bites per hour is considered acceptable. They quote one D. S. Kettle: "One midge is an entomological curiosity, a thousand can be hell. The bite is painful, raises welts and itches like mad. The irritation lasts for weeks." Not known to transmit any human disease. Some very allergic people have had to be treated with adrenaline and histamines. You can use repellent creams on exposed parts.
Is all this very morbid? No. It's not all stings and disease and has fine clear illustrations of many lovely creatures. Town House and Country House.