CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
A portly local 8-year-old with limited self-control has managed to consistently irritate a litter of sandfly bites right into the winter months.
It’s quite clear that Courtney Beesely, a local primary schooler from Brisbane’s bayside, comes from a ‘camping family’ – given her non-stop show-and-tell stories about gutting jewfish and lighting fires.
Despite being warned and warned about the possibility of scarring her shins forever, Courtney has shown early signs of hedonistic behaviour by simply scratching them until it stops feeling good.
“But they are itchy!” she shouts at her exhausted parents, who have almost gone as far clipping her fingernails blunt.
Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges, are a family of small flies (1–4 mm long) in the order Diptera. They are called midgies or sandflies in Australia. They are closely related to the Chironomidae, Simuliidae (or black flies), and Thaumaleidae – and are known for absolutely making a mess of young kids who’ve gone down to the beach without letting their mum coat them in flyspray.
With the winter solstice behind us, it looks as though Courtney will carry these bites right up until her next Island camping trip, cementing her title as the kid with the midgie bites.
