Perhaps the message here is that God created mosquitoes to remind us of our ultimate frailty and keep us humble. We think we’re so great because we’re lots bigger than the mosquitoes. But there’s one place where size doesn’t matter, and that’s in the eyes of God. All creatures were created equal, and each and every species has its particular job to do. The mosquitoes’ job is to keep alive at our expense. Our job is to keep alive at theirs. Even though they are one-trillionth our size, they are a formidable enemy, and should be admired as such. Like little David aiming his slingshot at his giant adversary, or third world terrorists bringing down a superpower, they serve as a warning to us lest we get too smug. Arrogance goes before the fall.

So, I returned from my vacation with a new respect for mosquitoes. Not that I’m sending them apologies, or inviting them to dinner or anything. But now, as I swat them and spray them, I try to appreciate them, for keeping me in my humble place and making me a wiser, and maybe better, human being.