Tradition: American Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: Insect
The Myth
Moskittos are enormous hybrid insects from American lumberjack folklore, known for their terrifying size and unusual stingers. They originated from the giant mosquitoes of the Chippewa River, which were so large that they could straddle a stream. These monstrous insects attacked lumberjacks by plucking them from floating logs and draining their blood. They were even large enough to be tied up and used as bridges when caught straddling a stream.
To combat the mosquito menace, the legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan introduced deadly fighting bumblebees from Texas. These aggressive bees quickly began battling the giant mosquitoes, giving the lumberjacks a temporary reprieve from their bloodthirsty attackers.
The conflict eventually ended when the mosquitoes and bumblebees made peace and hybridized, producing the moskittos. These new creatures inherited the enormous size and blood-drinking habits of the mosquitoes, along with the bees’ stinging abilities. Their most distinctive feature was having a stinger at each end of their bodies.
Fortunately, the moskittos also inherited the bumblebees’ fondness for sugar. When they discovered a shipment of sugar being transported across Lake Superior, they descended upon it and gorged themselves. They ate so much that they became too heavy to fly and drowned in the lake, ending their threat to humanity.
Sources
Countess Sica. “Moskitto.” A Book of Creatures, April 19, 2021. https://abookofcreatures.com/2021/04/19/moskitto/