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Show lAfeJM. SAL!1 FLAT NEWS, APRIL 1971 10 mm A tiny black gnat no larger than the head of a pin ranks among the most ferocious creatures for its size on the face of the earth, according to three biologists from the University of Utah who recently completed an extensive study of the tiny insect for the U.S. Army. and although Early Utah Indians appropriately called the little gnat he measures a little more than a millimeter long, his bite is as large as and more painful than that of his cousin, the mosquito. no-see-e- m, emerges by the billions every spring from the moist, oolitic sands and alkaline flats adjacent to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, but he can also be No-see-e- m extensively found around the world in semi-ari- d regions where wet sands create an ideal environment for his larvae. In spite of his ferocity neither animal nor man ever forgets his painfril bite little has been known in the past about the life history and behavior of this little black gnat, known to science as Leptoconops kerteszi Kieffer. But the Utah biologists recently completed a detailed, two-yea- r study of for the Army in which they colonized the tiny gnat for the first time in the laboratory, pinpointed details of his life cycle, and, unfortunately, reported there is no effective insect repellent known that will discourage his bite. Dr. Don M. Rees, professor emeritus of biolbgy at the University of Utah and. an international authority on bloodsucking arthropods, was the principal investigator in the research for the U.S. Army Medial Research and Development Command. He was assisted by Dr. Robert. N. Winget, now at Brigham Young University, and graduate student Phillip G. Lawyer, known among fellow students as Gnatman. Pool Shark Bob Tuten of Rosebud,. Montana at home behind the Photo.by R. UnuIu eight bait Portrait of a hostler BY RICHARD MENZIES On a cold day in early February, Bob Tuten (rhymes with rootin and shootin') blew into town on a brisk northerner, wearing two or three shirts, a straw hat, and a full white beard. He carried thirty-fiv- e y bottle of brand X, and, as always, the rock. The cents, a rock, he said, was an ore sample from his latest claim in the Salmon River country. It was heavy and and Bob said there was plenty more like it where it came from. In fact, there were half-empt- silver-colore- better rocks to be had, but they were too big for his pockets.' Bob strode into the nearest barroom and put out his hand to the first man at the rail. Bob Tuten, Rosebud, Montana! he boomed no-see-e- m I. & I Mr. Lawyer believes the tiny gnat may have been one of the plagues God visited on Pharaoh when Moses was trying to free the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage in Biblical times. He quotes 2nd Century Christian philosopher Origen as describing the little creatures in the plague of the flies in this way: The which are hung in the air by wings, but yet as it were invisible, and do so subtley and quickly pierce the skin, that the fly which you cannot perceive flying, you may feel stinging. This description fits to a tee, and coincidentally, the first Leptoconops were described in scientific literature by the biologist J.J. Kieffer in 1908 from gnats found near Cairo, . no-see-e- m Egypt Dr. Rees and his colleagues have observed femal gnat laying her eggs in sandy soil. The eggs hatch in about four days under ideal conditions, and the larvae live in the ground for 21-2- 3 After being dormant in a pupae stage for about two days, the adults emerge. There are literally billions of the creatures. To get an idea of the potential gnat population, Dr. .Rees and his colleagues day. d, in a voice exactly like Lee Marvin's, and in a second he had everyones attention. He set down the rock, glittering, the edges somewhat rounded as if from years of handling. The crowd studied it counted the number of larvae in test sections nine and one-ha- lf inches square. In one angle soil ' sample they found- more than 5,000 larvae. In the U colony and in the natural habitat, the males congregate in swarms just prior to mating, after which the females search for their blood meals. During their short life, these tiny creatures will fly up to 10 miles from the spot where they were hatched. In their report to the U.S. Army, the U biologists said they discovered that the Leptoconops female, like some species of mosquito, can produce viable eggs without a blood meal, though these gnats seem to relish feeding on rabbits, mice, rats, baby chicks, but with some preference for human hosts. Dr. Rees believes the female secretes some kind of substance which anesthetizes the skin before she makes a microscopic puncture .. with her sharp proboscis. Then she sucks blood from her host, feeding until engorgement, which usually takes about 11 minutes. The bite is particularly , painfril, creating a welt that can last up to two weeks. Some people. are also violently allergic to the gnat secretions. In the U colony, the female feeders passed up vials of honey water, canned milk and other types of organic food to feed upon the blood of animal and human hosts. In one feeding on a human forearm thrust into the jptorium, 197 bites were received within 60 minutes. Male gnats were also observed e - green-collare- er 'coin-operate- d er - . with interest. Aint no lawyers goin t screw me outta it this time, declared Tuten. No Sir, not like last time. Last time, explained the prospector, he had lost a fdVtiine to a passel of lawyers named Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and. Bean. Just on my way to the assay office, he continued, but I guess I got time for a little pool. At a green felt table in the rear, shrouded in a cloud of cigar smoke, several dim red eyes blinked. It was a rough bar on Salt Lakes West side, where for as long as anyone can remember, the been owned by a crew of gaming tables-havworkmen known as the Roto-Rootmonogramed boys. Ownership of the table is a variation of the game bunker hill, whereby any newcomer has to challenge the reigning king in order to play. Games are played for money, usually a dollar, and the challenger has to feed the table a quarter. It takes a lot of bravado to play for a dollar when you only have thirty-fiv- e cents, but if Bob Tuten is usually short of cash, he has never lacked bravado. Bob pushed his only quarter into the slot and grabbed the first stick off the rack. He beamed as the head Roto-Rootstepped forward to break. Bob Tuten, Rosebud, Montana! he grinned, momentarily spoiling the sinister atmosphere of the room. With a sharp crack the balls scattered toward the exits. Bob chalked his stick and waited as more balls fell, chalked again and finally got a tum. He hitched up his trousers and studied the table, Am I stripes or solids? he asked. The question sounded perfectly innocent, and Bob asked it before almost every shot that night, sometimes alternating with the even more inane, Big ones or little ones? But then the long, spadelike fingers spread out, gripping the felt, and Bobs eyes narrowed as he sighted down the stick. Ball after ball dropped, with Bob sighing relief each time. He was careful not to be waiting at exactly the spot were the cue ball rolled to a stop, in perfect position for the next shot. Bob drew a deep breath, hitched up his pants again, shot and missed. As billiards goes, it was a perfect miss, losing noting and leaving nothing. But his opponent pulled it out, dropping one, two, three more balls. It looked like curtains for the bearded stranger,' who had just one more chance to win the game. It wasnt an easy shot and Bob took his time, shaking, his head doubtfully. Then drawing himself together he shot. The eight ball barely dropped into the pocket and Tuten won. ' ..... Leaving the Roto-Rootboys in bad spirits, we left the west side tavern and moved on to the d pool halls of south State Street. Tutens spirits were on the rise, and he began sprouting verse from Shakespeare, Kipling, and The Cremation of Sam McGee in its entirety. Im a poet, too, he admitted. When Im not drinking I can shoot can I shoot, declared Tuten. And Ive shot with the best of em, in Oklahoma, Talahassee, Kansas City, Denver, Cheyenne, Scarsdale. They were gentlemen in those days yes, sir they never said a word when were was It for you shooting. money, too, big money. And I never lost, do you know that? Do you know why I never lost? He followed the giiestion with a long pause that slightly outlived its dramatic potential. I never lost because I aint got no patience! 1 4 i t lYlWi v. 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