I've been bitten by the bug. I wish I meant I'm addicted to an exciting new interest but unfortunately it's more literal than that; this is the culprit:
Oops, wrong pic, it's this one below, but it does feel as if something far more malignant is responsible.
This is the Flower Bug. A sweet little thing, really, but I have so many painful bites from this insect that I feel more like one big bite with a little bit of unblemished skin attached. The Flower Bug is only a few millimetres in length and whilst I've never noticed one land on me, they're all around - all around the tiny wildflower patch and the nettles at the end of the garden, all around any plants that attract aphids and other small insects which they eat (they're even used as biological pest control for crop production in some areas; these are the good guys!) Unfortunately they seem to want to prey on me too and my skin reacts quite badly to their nipping, coming up in big red weals which are intensely itchy and take many days to heal. There are bites on my arms, my legs, and in a few more unexpected places too (put it this way, I have no idea how one could have got inside my bra...) Aside from sporting a hazmat suit I've kept as covered up as I can in their presence and yet still they manage to find their way into - under - through? my clothes. A constellation of pink welts decorates my torso right now - an Ursa Minor of irritation. Hats off (although probably best to keep them on, with nets attached) to our friends in Scotland who have to cope with the midges. Anyway, insect repellant has now been bought and I hope I can frolic amid the flowers unbitten in future.
Thinking about the Flower Bug did, however, remind me of a really great song and I can't get it out of my head. It was one of the first '60s psychy numbers I'd ever heard, some time in the mid '80s, which piqued my interest in the genre and started off a whole other foray into underground freakbeat and psych. It was like nothing I'd ever really listened to before - oh, remember how that feels?! - the excitement and magic of embarking on a hitherto unknown musical journey. From hearing songs like this I was opened up to all those obscure records which were given a new lease of life in the ‘80s when labels like Bam Caruso, Big Beat, Psycho and See For Miles mined the rich seam of 1960s psych and beat to present them to a new audience, and it became quite an obsession. Dare I say, I was bitten by the bug...
Enough of the introduction! Here's Flower King of Flies by the Nice, the opening track of their 1968 debut album, 'The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack', all Hammond organ, psychy guitar, speeded up echo effects and trippy lyrics.
Sorry to hear of your afflictions. Have you considered pinning the bird drawings from your excellent bird book to items of your clothing to see if that deters the bugs?
Thanks Ernie, and for your inspired suggestion. I'll try anything... could spark a new fashion trend too, stranger things have happened (bum flaps, anyone?!)
Ouch yes, a very bad idea indeed. I never really did understand why they were all the rage once either - a very Kings Road punk look. Argh, I must be getting old.
I've had a few unusual bites this year, usually after a stint in the garden, itch like mad and take forever to heal. Wonder if it's the same type of critter?
Ooh - sounds to me as if you could have been targeted by those flower bugs too, Martin. At least they have discerning taste! In my case the bites aren't too bad at the very start, but for 2 or 3 days after they swell and become intensely itchy to the point of painful (unbearable to touch), the redness lasting for a couple of weeks in some cases. Wonder if it's similar for you?
Sorry you had to suffer in the pursuit of your toil, C, but the payoff - a great song by The Nice - may just about be worth it.
I’m usually quite lucky at home or abroad where insect bites are concerned. That said, last summer, after clearing some overgrowth at the end of the garden, I ended up looking quite like this guy…
https://youtu.be/3Gnchx4NNgE?si=KP0WMUDMXWTg8Hqo
Not a good look as I had to go to work the following day!
Thanks Khayem, and glad you like the song - I especially love that freakbeat guitar solo in the middle. Oh no - that clip made me smile but the thought of you ending up like that is no laughing matter - nobody wants to look like a cactus! Must have been itchy too. Bet you were a bit prickly that day (sorry...)
I like a May Bug, me! Have held them in my hand before and enjoyed some peaceful bonding :-) These little bugs are so small you barely notice them, but oh what a bite! Glad you like the song choice too - yes, very of the time as you say.
Sorry to hear of your affliction. Don't know if it would work for these insects but up here in Scotland all big and butch outdoor workers have a bottle of Avon Skin So Soft which works well against the midges.
Ah thanks, I ove the thought of all those butch types with super soft skin thanks to Avon! (Are there such things as 'Avon Ladies' (and men) any more I wonder? - haven't seen one in decades.) I've got some extra strong level 'Jungle' spray for now (so if there are any jaguars or snakes lurking I'll probably be ok) but you know I'm still nervous about being amid those tiny flower bugs.
Thanks Rol - the other day, just to be super sure, I took the extreme measure of wearing jeans tucked into socks tucked into baseball boots and a zipped up fleece, just to cut back some undergrowth - in 28 degree heat - but managed to stay unbitten. A first! - Agree about the album title, wish it was a real name but a great combination of the band members' surnames Emerson / O'List / Davison /Jackson.
For the first 40 or so seconds I thought the song was just another slice of flowery-psychedelic bobbins. But how wrong was I? With those curly-swirly organ notes it becomes a pre-prog masterpiece!
Hi George, thanks for coming by; glad you liked that curly-swirly organ sound - Keith Emerson before he started thrusting knives into his instrument! I hope Fennel enjoyed it too?!
Thank you Khayem and the same to you and yours. Thank you too for keeping the blogging post flying so interestingly and efficiently... (It is shocking that you have had to post this comment on my last blog post dated.... argh..... July!)
Sorry to hear of your afflictions. Have you considered pinning the bird drawings from your excellent bird book to items of your clothing to see if that deters the bugs?
ReplyDeleteThanks Ernie, and for your inspired suggestion. I'll try anything... could spark a new fashion trend too, stranger things have happened (bum flaps, anyone?!)
DeleteBum flaps sound like a very bad idea in this context (or any). You definitely don't want the little buggers getting in that way.
DeleteOuch yes, a very bad idea indeed. I never really did understand why they were all the rage once either - a very Kings Road punk look. Argh, I must be getting old.
DeleteI've had a few unusual bites this year, usually after a stint in the garden, itch like mad and take forever to heal. Wonder if it's the same type of critter?
ReplyDeleteOoh - sounds to me as if you could have been targeted by those flower bugs too, Martin. At least they have discerning taste!
DeleteIn my case the bites aren't too bad at the very start, but for 2 or 3 days after they swell and become intensely itchy to the point of painful (unbearable to touch), the redness lasting for a couple of weeks in some cases. Wonder if it's similar for you?
Sounds very similar indeed.
DeleteOh Martin, those vicious flower bugs. In a world where the likes of Trump and Farage exist, why do they have to go and pick on us?
DeleteSorry you had to suffer in the pursuit of your toil, C, but the payoff - a great song by The Nice - may just about be worth it.
ReplyDeleteI’m usually quite lucky at home or abroad where insect bites are concerned. That said, last summer, after clearing some overgrowth at the end of the garden, I ended up looking quite like this guy…
https://youtu.be/3Gnchx4NNgE?si=KP0WMUDMXWTg8Hqo
Not a good look as I had to go to work the following day!
Thanks Khayem, and glad you like the song - I especially love that freakbeat guitar solo in the middle.
DeleteOh no - that clip made me smile but the thought of you ending up like that is no laughing matter - nobody wants to look like a cactus! Must have been itchy too. Bet you were a bit prickly that day (sorry...)
They have a look of the May Bug about them. Good musical choice btw! Very 1968.
ReplyDeleteJM
I like a May Bug, me! Have held them in my hand before and enjoyed some peaceful bonding :-) These little bugs are so small you barely notice them, but oh what a bite!
DeleteGlad you like the song choice too - yes, very of the time as you say.
I assume that you will be avoiding music by The Bug Club?!
ReplyDeleteOnly to be listened to whilst wearing a full safari suit and head net I think!
DeleteAs the old hippy said ........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb-PvR0h7jY
ReplyDeleteHaha, Ben, thank you. Very apt (although there clearly are bugs on me!)
DeleteSorry to hear of your affliction. Don't know if it would work for these insects but up here in Scotland all big and butch outdoor workers have a bottle of Avon Skin So Soft which works well against the midges.
ReplyDeleteAs for the music clip, very you, and very 1968.
Ah thanks, I ove the thought of all those butch types with super soft skin thanks to Avon! (Are there such things as 'Avon Ladies' (and men) any more I wonder? - haven't seen one in decades.) I've got some extra strong level 'Jungle' spray for now (so if there are any jaguars or snakes lurking I'll probably be ok) but you know I'm still nervous about being amid those tiny flower bugs.
DeleteOuch, C - you're gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion!
ReplyDeleteThey don't make records with names like The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack any more, do they?
Thanks Rol - the other day, just to be super sure, I took the extreme measure of wearing jeans tucked into socks tucked into baseball boots and a zipped up fleece, just to cut back some undergrowth - in 28 degree heat - but managed to stay unbitten. A first!
Delete- Agree about the album title, wish it was a real name but a great combination of the band members' surnames Emerson / O'List / Davison /Jackson.
For the first 40 or so seconds I thought the song was just another slice of flowery-psychedelic bobbins. But how wrong was I? With those curly-swirly organ notes it becomes a pre-prog masterpiece!
ReplyDeleteHi George, thanks for coming by; glad you liked that curly-swirly organ sound - Keith Emerson before he started thrusting knives into his instrument! I hope Fennel enjoyed it too?!
DeleteThanks for your lovely comments this year, C. Wishing you and Mr SDS a very happy Christmas and a rewarding 2025!
ReplyDeleteThank you Khayem and the same to you and yours.
DeleteThank you too for keeping the blogging post flying so interestingly and efficiently... (It is shocking that you have had to post this comment on my last blog post dated.... argh..... July!)