I'm going to start today with a poem, an old one from the end of the 18th century.

The Fly by William Blake.

Little fly thy summer's play, my thoughtless hand has brushed away.

Am not I a fly like thee, or art not thou a man like me?

For I dance and drink and sing till some blind hand shall brush my wing.

If thought is life and strength and breath, and the want of thought is death,

then am I a happy fly, if I live or if I die.

Today's episode is about the sandfly.

Luzomia Gomezi.

I'm Mackin. This is species.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of a young man named Alex Levy, who passed away on Monday. I didn't know

Alex personally, but I know from what I've read that he had a wonderful sense of humor, a reputation

for thoughtfulness and compassion, and the profound ability to light up any room with his presence.

I know that he loved animals.

This was his favorite podcast, and after he passed,

his parents requested that others listened to a few episodes of this show in his memory.

Though he was just out of college,

Alex managed to be this podcast's biggest donor ever in life,

and with his donation, he requested that I do an episode on the Sandfly.

Alex, I'm so sorry we didn't get this done earlier.

To Alex's family, you have my deepest sympathy, and you are in our thoughts.

Our species is running out of enemies. Almost every other animal on Earth has other species to deal with who are serious problems.

...