Once eggs have been successfully attached to the hairs of the host's body, the stage is set for the hatch to access the skin and burrow within. Inside of the host, the larvae then migrate through the caribou's tissue to the reach the animal's upper back region. Once in place, they cut breathing holes into the hide and remain feeding and growing for the duration of the coming year. The following summer, via access of the breathing holes, the larvae emerge from the caribou and drop to the ground.

It is on the tundra that the larvae pupate: the adult fly to emerge and repeat the cycle.

The Warble Fly will assault its' target in either of two modes; on the wing: it will approach from the air, flying toward the intended host; on the ground: it will crawl through the tundra, silent in its' approach. The airborne attack is more obvious and against which is easier to defend. Listening for the fly or simply seeing its' approach can afford the opportunity to escape. The ground attack is much more stealthy and virtually impossible to detect: the only defense is to keep moving and not remain still in one location for any time. Certainly, reclining upon the tundra while temperatures favor the activity of the Warble Fly, is to be avoided at all costs, it is an invitation to become "Warblized". A nice patch of snow or ice affords refuge to remain still, if a "breather" is required. A dry river bed is also refuge from the ground assault, but not quite as refreshing as the snow. Come mid July, however, when the snow is no more and the ice has receded, the dry sandy river bed may be the only resort. At "night", (no darkness but yet the sun hangs low in the sky), the fly is absent: a relief to encourage activity at will, without regard, without concern: a stay of infestation. But of course there are the cooler days, the cold polar currents that drive back the warmth from the south. The mosquitoes are about, but not to fuss; the cool winds blow and movement to their lead provides relief: absent are the invaders of flesh, the depositors of alien invasion. What matters a mosquito bite when compared to maggots that feed from within.

Sounds like the caribou and their movement, doesn't it? But of course I am speaking of my own interaction with this pest.

What would the caribou say if given the gift of speech? What would they tell us? At times, as they stand at rest to the swarm of countless thousands of mosquitoes hovering about; and then at others, in order to escape the assault of one single Warble Fly, as they run wildly from a streambed to ascend the peak of a five thousand foot mountain, they might just say, "Pay attention".

I love contradiction. I love to hate it, to embrace it, to rip through it, to tear it away in shreds hopefully revealing a fact or truth that exposes the contradiction for what it is: anti-truth. An awareness of contradiction can only mean one thing: the facts (either side) as understood, are in error, and in are in fact, not the facts. Contradiction may originate from a simple misunderstanding, a lack of sufficient information allowing a proper interpretation to exist or it may originate from an intentional and willful misrepresentation of fact designed to conceal a truth. While momentarily duped by the absence of actual fact, the appearance of contradiction cannot be concealed.

Upon my first visit to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I was informed of the voracious mosquitoes, the scourge, the bane of the caribou's existence, " .... caribou may loose half their body weight to mosquitoes ..." I accepted this, it sounded apocalyptic, dramatic, certainly made sense: thousands of the little blood suckers feeding away. I've logged my hours in the Everglades of Florida, the interior of Alaska: I accepted it at face value.

While the issue of mosquitoes further inland, (the mountains, the foothill slopes), may indeed be a matter for the caribou, it is only relevant to the extent that the caribou are there: they are not there, they leave. Where do they go? The 1002 Sanctuary. Where lies the graze of sufficient quantity and quality to support the nutritional requirements of more than 125,000 grazing caribou? The 1002 Sanctuary. Where exists the climatic conditions that allow caribou the escape of Warble infestation? The 1002 Sanctuary.

The issue of the 1002 is the Warble Fly-Caribou interaction.

A funny thing happened on the way to film a documentary: contradiction.