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[Wile_E_Coyote]

PITTSBURG, Kan. -- While the Gorillas were chewing up Western State College of Colorado's football team 56-6 a couple of weeks ago, something else was eating at the opposing team -- and nearly everyone else at Pittsburg State University's Carnie Smith Stadium that night.

Now the Crawford County Health Department, Kansas State University entomologists, exterminators and some formerly itchy visitors are trying to find out what caused the mysterious bites.


Jerry Swaro, of Salida, Colo., whose son Mike is a middle linebacker for Western State, said fans were so badly bitten at the Aug. 26 game that many thought they had been overnight victims of bedbugs at a Pittsburg hotel.



But when some fans who had not stayed overnight in town also complained of the bites, it became apparent that something at the game had been having a feast.


"My wife even went to the emergency room in Salida," Jerry Swaro said. "Nobody knows what these things are, but we have all been bitten."

An assistant athletic director at Western State said players and coaches complained about the bites for about four days before they went away.


Steve Shepherd, a local exterminator, said a bug that was sent to Kansas State last week turned out to be a clover mite, which feeds off grass. He said he found other types of small insects on the Internet that fit the profile of what bit all those people, but until the culprit has been identified conclusively, applying pesticides to the field would be a waste of time and money.


Besides the football fans, many other people who have visited Pittsburg in the past two weeks have been calling county offices, family members and the local media to find out what bit them.

Pittsburg State's sports information director said the Gorillas have not been complaining about the bites any more than other people who live in the area.


The Pittsburg State football team played at Fort Hays State University on Saturday, but the Gorillas are back at home this weekend, hosting Truman State University.