She lands on your arm so softly she doesn't even wake you up; neither do her frantic attempts to find a blood vessel during the next minute and a half. Repeatedly, she thrusts her needle-sharp, double-barreled mouthpiece into your skin, trying her luck. As she sucks through one barrel to see if anything comes up, she spits a sophisticated mix of drugs down the other to prevent blood from clotting and your vessels from constricting. When she finally hits a vein, she quickly fills up her gut. Then she leaves. One meal is enough: As she flies away, suddenly three times heavier, she has enough proteins on board to produce about 100 eggs a few days from now.
展开▼
