Mosquito numbers in the Chicagoland area have spiked, making this city more bugtastic than ever. Like the gypsy moths, they too are loving our current weather conditions, so the skeeters have scooted our direction.

Evidently it’s the heavy rains we’ve seen recently that have led to the onslaught. The wet weather has also created elevated water levels, which give the bloodsuckers more places to lay eggs. To that end, local abatement experts have been busy treating sewers with larvacide, since apparently that’s a mosquitos’ favorite place for baby-makin’. Floodwater mosquitoes have a reputation for being aggressive, but these are not the type to carry West Nile virus, so an itchy welt is really the worst they can do to you.

Speaking of which, yours truly has a lovely red bump on her forehead from one of these suckers. That’s got to be just about the worst place for a mosquito bite. Not sexy. [CBS]

Photo of mosquitoes who have met their maker by quapan.