[NatureNS] blackfly bites, or what are they

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Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:32:53 -0300
From: Martin Alpert <alpertelectric@gmail.com>
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  face=Arial&gt;Dave, why do you think polygonum scabrum could cause a
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but why would it appear as individual spots - as individual bites would
cause - If a plant brushed against my leg wouldn't you expect something like
a wiping action that irritated a larger area; unless, as you say, there
existed small cuts/abrasions.

Marty

On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 5:14 PM, David & Alison Webster
<dwebster@glinx.com>wrote:

>  Hi Jane & All,                    Aug 22, 2010
>     No sources other than personal experience. One example of delayed
> reaction, that I remember from about 1944, is the very itchy rash that can
> develop from barley hairs; 3-4 days to come into full bloom as I recall.
> Close encounters with Hordeum jubatum would likely have a similar effect.
>
>     We have a patch of Cornus stolonifera at one edge of the yard. If I
> brush against it when sweaty then I develop an itch; nothing when dry.
>
>     I don't wish to jump to rash conclusions-- but I suspect many delayed
> rashes that are induced by rough plants arise from exposure of living
> sub-epidermal tissue, by small cuts/abrasions in the epidermis, to spores,
> pollen, gemmae, bacteria, dust mites etc.
>
>     My Polygonum scabrum was a case of thinking one plant (Polygonum
> sagittatum), and saying the other.
>
>
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* David&Jane Schlosberg <dschlosb-g@ns.sympatico.ca>
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 22, 2010 2:48 PM
> *Subject:* RE: [NatureNS] blackfly bites, or what are they
>
> Dave, why do you think polygonum scabrum could cause a skin reaction?  It's
> got a high oxalic acid content, but so do so many other plants.  Also, I've
> never seen it in the woods, except in places that are sunny enough to grow
> grass.  My husband has grass allergies, but I don't know of people who are
> not allergic getting rashes from grass.  Do you have a source for this
> information?  I wonder if the dry heat lately would make many plants more
> irritating, as has happened with the members of the carrot family.....
> As for the chiggers theory, I seem to remember from my childhood in
> Maryland, that chiggers attack under elastic, like waistbands.
> Obviously, this thread has caught the attention of a fair number of us, as
> we all love to walk in the woods.
> Jane
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:
> naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]*On Behalf Of *David & Alison Webster
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 22, 2010 2:17 PM
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] blackfly bites, or what are they
>
> Hi Martin,                Aug 22, 2010
>     Because they are localized to lower leg, I would suspect some delayed
> reaction to a knee-high scabrous plant. Possible candidates; Carex spp.,
> grass, Polygonum scabrum...
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Martin Alpert <alpertelectric@gmail.com>
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 22, 2010 9:36 AM
> *Subject:* [NatureNS] blackfly bites, or what are they
>
> I walked last thurs into North River Fall, in shorts.
> On my lower leg I had quite a few, what looked like, black fly bites. Some
> 40 on each leg, randomly spaced - not like I brushed into some noxious
> plant.
> Usually they are no problem and the next day they are almost gone.
> These itch a little.
> Today is Sunday and there really red and slightly raised.
> Anybody know what happened?
>
> Marty
>
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-- 
Martin D. Alpert
Alpert Electric
RR#5
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
B2G 2L3
902-863-5496

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but why would it appear as individual spots - as individual bites would cau=
se - If a plant brushed against my leg wouldn&#39;t you expect something li=
ke a wiping action that irritated a larger area; unless, as you say, there =
existed small cuts/abrasions.<div>
<br></div><div>Marty<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Sun, Aug 22, 2010=
 at 5:14 PM, David &amp; Alison Webster <span dir=3D"ltr">&lt;<a href=3D"ma=
ilto:dwebster@glinx.com">dwebster@glinx.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><block=
quote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc=
 solid;padding-left:1ex;">






<div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff">
<div><font size=3D"2">Hi Jane &amp; All,=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=20
=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0 Aug 22,=20
2010</font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2">=A0=A0=A0 No sources other than personal experience.=
=20
One example of delayed reaction, that I remember from about 1944, is the ve=
ry=20
itchy rash that can develop from barley hairs; 3-4 days to come into full b=
loom=20
as I recall. Close encounters with Hordeum jubatum would likely have a simi=
lar=20
effect. </font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2"></font>=A0</div>
<div><font size=3D"2">=A0=A0=A0 We have a patch of Cornus=A0stolonifera=20
at one edge of the yard. If I brush=A0against it when sweaty then I develop=
=20
an itch; nothing when dry.</font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2"></font>=A0</div>
<div><font size=3D"2">=A0=A0=A0 I don&#39;t wish to jump to rash conclusion=
s--=20
but I suspect many delayed rashes that are induced by=20
rough=A0plants=A0arise from exposure of living sub-epidermal tissue, by=20
small cuts/abrasions in the epidermis, to spores, pollen, gemmae, bacteria,=
 dust=20
mites etc. =A0=A0</font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2"></font>=A0</div>
<div><font size=3D"2">=A0=A0=A0 My Polygonum scabrum was a case of thinking=
=20
one plant (Polygonum sagittatum), and saying the other. </font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2"></font>=A0</div>
<div><font size=3D"2">=A0=A0=A0 </font></div>
<div><font size=3D"2">Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville</font></div>
<blockquote style=3D"border-left:#000000 2px solid;padd