The mysterious case of Winnipeg’s missing ‘rock star’ entomologist Taz Stuart

Only in Winnipeg, where mosquitoes grow to be the size of crows and the annual battle against the scourge make daily headlines, would an entomologist become a household name.

And only in Winnipeg would his mysterious departure lead to such intense speculation.

Taz Stuart silently left his position as the chief entomologist for Manitoba's capital, eight years after arriving in celebrated rock star-like fashion.

"The City of Winnipeg is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Taz Stuart as the Entomologist for the Community Services Department’s Insect Control Branch," reads a still-available news release from 2004, when Stuart was lured away from the City of Regina to lead Winnipeg's war on mosquitoes.

His departure, however, is cloaked in mystery. With no official announcement and no definitive answer on when or why Stuart left the position, the city has been left wondering about the fate of one of its highest-profile city officials.

Stuart's departure and the mystery behind its suddenness made local headlines on Wednesday. In fact, it was the top story for the Winnipeg Free Press as well as the CTV and CBC local news affiliates.

"Taz Stuart is no longer an employee of the City of Winnipeg," a city spokesperson told the Free Press, though no more detail was offered.

Coun. Dan Vandal had not heard of the change when approached by the newspaper. Mayor Sam Katz similarly claimed in a morning radio interview that he was not aware of the details of Stuart's departure.

680 CJOB further cited a city official who said Stuart had been suspended in August, although the source would not say why – only that there were issues that couldn't be worked out.

Stuart last spoke publicly in early July, when the city began fogging neighbourhoods for mosquitoes.

It was a particularly tense time, as those who oppose chemical fogging complained and Stuart, himself a proponent of eco-friendly pest control solutions, was forced to play the heavy.

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Perhaps Stuart was growing tired of the limelight, or perhaps the toll of being at the centre of an annual outrage.

Winnipeg has become as well-known for its summer mosquito swarm as it is for its chillingly cold winters. Is it possible Stuart grew tired of the constant battle?

"I get beat up all the time," he told 102.3 Clear FM in June, in what can only be described as a half-joking tone.

Further evidence of the strain of the public position was the bizarre publicity tug-of-war in which the entomologist found himself.

He was often employed as the city's front-line spokesperson for its contentious mosquito battle. But it seems Stuart was kept on a short leash.

Years ago, I requested an interview with Stuart for a story about the scope of Winnipeg's mosquito problem. City officials refused me access to the expert. I've heard similar stories from other journalists.

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Last year, Free Press great Gordon Sinclair Jr. wrote a column about that veil of secrecy after trying to write a profile about Stuart himself, a larger-than-life character with big hair and, once upon a time, a bigger personality.

Sinclair wrote:

The only personal detail Sinclair would publish, thanks to the public nature of newspaper obituaries, was that Stuart's parents passed away the previous summer.

A 2012 Globe and Mail profile on Stuart was similarly devoid of personal detail, stating only that he was paid a six figure salary that put him only slightly behind the mayor himself.

The city is now launching a search for a new entomologist. One suspects that person will be in place by next summer, when the annual war on mosquitoes begins again.

One further suspects the ideal candidate will be a less fascinating character than Stuart, although the leash with be kept no less short.

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