My girlfriend and I were staying in Guizhou province for a wedding. Our hotel left an electric mosquito repeller plug-in near the bed. I don’t know if having this in a hotel room is the norm, but the only other time I saw a room with this was in Phuket, and the room did indeed have mosquitoes. So, needless to say, this was not a good sign.

One night, I heard a mosquito buzz near my ear. Mind you, it was only me and not my girlfriend. I guess I have good blood or something. I was too lazy to do something about it, so I simply wrapped my arm around my head to shield my ear. Didn’t matter. Homeboy was still buzzing around. We turned on the light in hopes of finding the little fucker. We did; I plastered it against a mirror and noticed a huge bump on my forearm.

The damage was done. That fucker got me. Got me good, too.

This has been a side story of my time in China. Mosquitoes in China feel different; they are more aggressive or leave bigger marks. I have no evidence to back this up other than mosquitoes didn’t mess with me in Phuket, and I don’t remember mosquitoes in Atlanta being this bad.

There was the night we (my girlfriend and I) were bitten multiple times across the ankles and arms while walking around her apartment community. There are the mosquitoes that love to hang out around the elevators in my apartment. There are the mosquitoes that camp out in the lecture halls of the university where I work. There is no escape from it.

At least once a week, I rhetorically ask what’s the point of mosquitoes? As if knowing their purpose in life will somehow make me more okay with their existence. From five minutes of Google searches and reading, here is what I have learned:

Other species eat mosquitoes: Having said that, I read that few species feed exclusively on mosquitoes. I guess we need these “few” animals in some capacity, but feeding exclusively on mosquitoes sounds like zero levels of fun.

Mosquitoes are pollinators: They apparently transfer pollen from flower to flower and fertilize plants, allowing them to form seeds and reproduce. But again, few plant species depend entirely on mosquitoes, so what are we doing?

That’s kind of it. To be fair, I shouldn’t overlook the importance of the ecosystem. If one role in the system falls off, the entire system crumbles. However, my concerns about ecosystems go away when mosquitoes are described as one of the most deadly animals in the world and researchers are attempting to reduce mosquito populations.

I care about all life on earth until the inconvenience of an itchy bump on my ankle, leg, or arm makes me want all mosquitoes gone. I assume there are no mistakes in how the ecosystem is built. I just ask mosquitoes to leave me alone at night and stop flying into my apartment whenever I open the door. Cool? Cool.