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Mosquitos aren't endemic to Hawaii. American and European ships brought the insects to the archipelago around 1826.
Some experts worry that the insects that could replace mosquitos would be just as bad and wonder if the replacement could spread disease quicker and further than mosquitos.
Wolbachia is a type of bacteria that naturally occurs in many insects. Scientists have found that infecting Aedes aegypti mosquitos with Wolbachia interferes with the mosquito's ability to transmit viruses like dengue and Zika.
In certain bodies of water, especially in eastern North America, mosquito and midge species play a vital role. When an insect drowns, midges consume the carcasses while mosquito larvae feed on the waste products. This produces nutrients that are important for plants.
In recent years, experts have made promising breakthroughs in preventing disease transmission by infecting mosquitos with parasitic bacteria, sterilizing mosquitos with radiation, and even editing mosquitos’ genomes using CRISPR technology.
By making life difficult for humans in tropical rainforests, mosquitos may have indirectly slowed down deforestation.
Bats are highly effective at controlling mosquito populations. On average, they are thought to consume between 600 and 1,000 mosquitos per hour.
Mosquitos of all ages and sexes are a food source for a range of animals, including fish, turtles, dragonflies, songbirds, and bats.
Mosquitofish feed on mosquito larvae at all stages of life, helping to reduce the mosquito population. If mosquitos were eradicated, it would disrupt the food chain, and the fish could face extinction.
Male mosquitos only eat nectar, making some species major pollinators of crops and flowers. Their disappearance could affect the pollination of certain crops and flowers, leading to reduced fruit and seed production.
Extensive spraying of pesticides to eradicate mosquitos could have a dire impact on bats and other wildlife.
The main reason why experts can't predict what will happen if mosquitos are completely eradicated is because they don't know how they fit into the food chain despite there being 3,500 species of mosquitos on the planet.
It should be stated that experts don't know for certain what the world would look like without mosquitos, and they aren't sure of what the consequences would be if mosquitos were completely eradicated.
In late August 2024, residents of Oxford, Massachusetts, were asked to adhere to a voluntary curfew in an effort to protect them against a potentially deadly disease known as eastern equine encephalitis.
Male mosquitos primarily feed on the nectar of flowers, but only females actually require blood in order to produce eggs.
Some mosquitos that live in wetlands feed on frogs and other amphibians; they're not interested in humans. Other mosquitos, such as those in the genus Toxorhynchites, actually hunt other mosquitos during their aquatic larval stage.
Mosquitos also transmit dengue virus, which kills around 21,000 people each year. Symptoms include sudden high fever, severe headaches, and joint and muscle pain.
Mosquitos are vectors, as they can carry and spread diseases from one person (or animal) to another. When a mosquito bites someone with a disease, it picks up the virus or parasite. Then, when it bites someone else, it can pass those germs into their bloodstream, making them sick.
Mosquitos are the primary vector for malaria, so if they disappeared malaria would as well. In 2022, global deaths from the disease were estimated at 608,000, a nearly 6% increase since 2019.
Eradicating mosquitos could reduce burdens on public health services, and countries may be able to recover the loss of gross domestic product malaria is responsible for.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country sees over 1,200 cases and about 100 deaths a year from West Nile virus, and between three and 15 cases of eastern equine encephalitis.
Mosquitos are a family of small flies. They have a slender segmented body, a pair of wings, three pairs of long thin legs, and a mouthpart made of a sophisticated system of thin needles, each of which pierces the skin.
Bats are generalist predators, meaning they eat whatever they can catch. There aren't any bat species that only eat mosquitos, so it's unlikely bat populations will be severely impacted if mosquitos were eradicated.
The eradication of mosquitos would have huge consequences for global health. It could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people globally each year.
Malaria symptoms are similar to flu symptoms. Fever, chills, headaches, and sweats are the most common signs. Malaria typically does not go away on its own, and recovery without intervention poses a major risk.
Reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitos by wearing loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants. You may also want to opt for clothes treated with permethrin.
Use an insect repellent with an active ingredient like DEET or Picaridin to prevent mosquitos from biting you.
Sources: (National Geographic) (CDC)
See also: What's the unheard-of respiratory illness that's claiming lives?
Empty buckets, tires, birdbaths, flowerpot saucers, or any other receptacle that can hold water once per week.
Use screens on windows and doors to stop mosquitos from getting inside. Repair or replace any screens that have rips or holes.
Curious? Click through this gallery to find out what the world would look like if we removed mosquitos from our planet.
What would the world look like if mosquitos were eradicated?
Should we wipe out these bothersome creatures?
TRAVEL Bugs
Not only are mosquitos annoying, with their high-pitched whines and relentlessly itchy bites, but they are also the world's deadliest animals, responsible for the deaths of over one million people worldwide each year. But what would happen if we got rid of these tiny winged critters? Would it have devastating effects on our ecosystem? Or would it lead to the eradication of diseases and save the lives of many each year?
Curious? Click through this gallery to find out what the world would look like if we removed mosquitos from our planet.