More and more insects are biting as the weather improves and you reveal more of your bare flesh for them to nibble. An old trick is to start taking Vitamin B complex about a week before your holiday and keep taking them. Your body gives off a smell (undetectable to all but the most sensitive, unless you overdo it, in which case you'll smell like a Marmite sandwich!) that midges, mosquitoes etc. don't like and that should keep them off. Even multivitamins that contain a vitamin B will help, but do consult a doctor if in doubt about taking supplements. More detectable as a smell, but effective, is citronella. It's pretty unpleasant, as perfumes go:

Citronella and various lotions
Which cause mosquitoes to fear you
Arouse, it happens, the same emotions
In people who chance to be near you.

(Sorry, its not a folk rhyme although I remember people quoting it as if it were. I'd better track down the author - perhaps you can help?)

You used to get incense coils made with citronella, for use outdoors. They were made in India and smelled a bit ghastly; they also had a badly printed label bearing the legend: "This insense renders the smell plesant to people and droves of insects." You can now buy citronella garden candles which help a bit to keep insects away if you're camping, having a barbecue or an outdoor ritual, but keep an eye on them, especially if it's windy; keep flares and flames away from dry vegetation. Insects usually avoid forest fires, but so should people (avoid starting them, I mean).

Lemongrass is good as well. It belongs to the same plant family as citronella, but smells a bit more civilised. Lemon balm (melissa) is also okay and you can carry the leaves on your person. (Also said to bring luck and fertility!) Lavender is effective in keeping insects away and lavender oil can also soothe bites. (As can aloe vera, orris or calamus.) Even covering yourself with any kind of oil (if on a beach, for instance) may deter insects a bit, as they can't get through to your skin so easily, but it's six and two threes if the oil has a floral fragrance, as they'll want to visit you if they think you're a flower. Smoking like a chimney (especially menthol cigarettes) also keeps them away but as this is a healthy site, I never said this. A trick for keeping bugs off your plants is to boil up the contents of your local pub's ashtrays) and spraying with the liquid. This may work on people but I shouldn't think it's very good for your skin, or particularly pleasant unless the person you're with is a regular contributor to the ashtrays at the same pub.

There is quite a rationale to insects thinking you're a flower. Every time I wore a favourite Summer dress, (floral print) I used to get chased by wasps. They are attracted to colour, so are less likely to visit you if you're wearing black; well, it's nice to be Gothic, but not necessarily on a hot sunny afternoon. Bees are less likely to bother you if you're in red; they rarely visit red flowers (unless the flower, or the fabric you're wearing has a u/v code, as bees can see ultra-violet and respond to hidden messages). However, folk wisdom tells us that redheads enrage bees and while they usually won't sting unless they really have to, they are supposed to really have it in for any carrot-topped individual. (So, Chris Evans, if you're reading this and you need a job, don't go into apiary.) Strangely enough, this does seem to be the case, although perhaps there are more reports of redheads being stung because they have a sensitive skin and react more strongly. Or maybe bees can sense the Fire Element in their magickal makeup.

If you're off on holiday, it is good magickal practice to find a local hive and go and inform the bees. They like to be kept up to date with family news. If you ask for the protection of these mystical creatures, they are less likely to harm you (you must promise not to harm them). You can request them to keep eyes on your property while you're away and ask them to tell their sisters not to sting you. (It's only the girls that sting - of course!)

Don't bother informing wasps though, you can't reason with them.