Sneaky little insect hitched a free ride

DIARMUID, our youngest son, returned from the jungles of Bolivia last month. He brought home a guest. Some odd characters stay with us from time to time, but the Bolivian visitor, who is still here, is the strangest to date.

The Rio Beni, which flows into the Amazon, has one of the finest intact ecosystems in South America. The jungle teams with life, including a bewildering profusion of insects, many of them as yet unknown to science. Some of the little beasties can deliver a painful sting. I visited the area myself some years ago but few of the insects stung me. Diarmuid was not so lucky. One particular sting, to the back of his head, was particularly irritating.

Some weeks later, Diarmuid noticed a swelling at the site of the sting. The doctor thought it was a harmless cyst but the lump continued to grow. There seemed to be something, about the size of grape, under the skin. A black liquid was discharged from time to time. There were occasional itches and aches, but Diarmuid, who has been roughing it around the world for the last year, is used to discomfort and he was not unduly perturbed by the bulging mini-volcano on his head.