AFRAM, an annual cultural festival celebrating Black excellence, was held over Juneteenth weekend at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland (here), (aframbaltimore.com/about-afram). Weeks later, Instagram posts shared a clip from the festival that shows attendees swatting and fanning themselves and includes the text: “Helicopter released deadly mosquitoes in Baltimore, MD AFRAM 2023” (here). In other posts from the event, however, users say the flying bugs were gnats, not mosquitoes (here), (here). MALE MOSQUITOES SWARM, DON’T BITEMale mosquitoes swarm to mate but don’t bite, and the swarming flies in social media posts do not look like mosquitoes, said George Dimopoulos, a deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (here). Social media clips of a Baltimore festival do not show “deadly mosquitoes,” entomology and health experts said.

---

Persons: Weeks, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Michael Raupp, gnats, Raup, Brian Federici, midge, ”, George Dimopoulos, Johns, Laura Harrington, “, Arinze Ifekauche, Dimopoulos, Read Organizations: Baltimore, Helicopter, Baltimore Mayor, University of Maryland, University of California, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Cornell University, Health Department, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Reuters Locations: Maryland, Baltimore City, Druid, Baltimore , Maryland, Baltimore, Riverside