At Port Essington the mosquitoes were remarkably large, and of a greyish colour.

They flew about literally in clouds, and it was practically impossible to keep clear of them.
The natives treated the bites with an ointment made from a kind of penny- royal herb and powdered charcoal.

Talking about pests, in some parts the ants were even more terrible than the mosquitoes, and I have known one variety--a reddish-brown monster, an inch long--to swarm over and actually kill children by stinging them.

Another pest was the leech.

It was rather dangerous to bathe in some of the lagoons on account of the leeches that infested the waters.