The buzzing sound of summer.(Asian tiger mosquito aggressive in Rome)

Byline: Barbie Nadeau

The telltale sound of summer in Rome used to be the clapping of plastic tables on the cobblestone streets as restaurants prepared to serve dinner under the stars. Now there's also the whine of buzzing mosquitoes. Those patrons intrepid enough to venture outside these days have to gobble down their bucatini before the insects--specifically, the Asian tiger mosquito--eat them alive. The bug arrived three years ago at the port of Genoa in a boatload of secondhand tires from Southeast Asia and apparently took to Italy's hot, humid climate--it's since spread as far south as Naples.

The mosquitoes are so aggressive--one can bite 10 times in succession, leaving large swollen welts that sometimes require lancing--that they're endangering the Italian al fresco tradition. Restaurants now brag about their use of pesticides on the cobblestones and shrubbery. People are putting up screens over their windows or, if they can afford it, buying air conditioners (sales have nearly doubled in the past two ...