Mosquitoes vs. humans - that’s the next Science Cafe, not a reality show

One of the pleasures of living in New Hampshire is that our insects can’t kill us. They can certainly be annoying – black flies are only a month away – but we don’t have black widow spiders or scorpions or killer bees or tarantulas or fire ants, and our mosquitoes aren’t laden with really nasty stuff like dengue or malaria. At the moment, anyway. But will this stay the case in a warming world, in which nasty subtropical beasts and bugs, including disease pathogens, keep moving north? Good question. Which is exactly why it’s one of the things we will discuss Wednesday at the next Science Cafe, with drink in hand, food on plate and fact-based speculation in the air. As always with true science, as compared to hotheaded punditry, certainty may be elusive. “It so incredibly difficult to predict what will happen, season to season, year to year, let alone five years from now,” said Abigail Mathewson, acting state Public Health veterinarian, who will be one of three panelists at the cafe.