They ruin our summer evenings. And what’s worse, they cause the spread of sometimes serious diseases. Mosquitoes. Why not eradicate them forever? Because they play their role in nature. Here’s what it is.
What could be more unbearable than a mosquito whistling in our ears in the middle of a summer night? A mosquito bite that never stops itching? Hard to tell. But one thing is certain. Nobody likes mosquitoes. Moreover, the hellish insect is also a carrier of diseases. For example, the tiger mosquito can transmit Zika virusZika virusthere dengue feverdengue fever Where chikungunyachikungunya. Millions of people suffer from it every year around the world. And more and more in the context of global warming and the intensification of trade and tourism.
Therefore, some scientists embarked on a somewhat crazy race. They hope to change geneticgenetic disease-carrying mosquitoes – of the more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes, only about 200 bite humans – to sterilize the males. Goal: to exhaust the species. More than 20 years ago, a biologist estimated that eradicating 30 species of mosquitoes would save the lives of a million people worldwide. And all this without significantly affecting the genetic diversity of mosquitoes.
The role of the mosquito in ecosystems
The problem is that mosquitoes also play a role in our environment. Firstly, because they – themselves or their larvae – are a destroyercrustcrust many other animals. From birds to batrachiansbatrachians passing by bats, dragonfliesdragonflies, spidersspiders or even FishFish. This is pretty well known.
What’s probably a little less obvious is that the mosquito is also a pollinator. It feeds mainly on flower nectar. His role in mattermatter probably not as important as in bees or butterflies. Researchers have never really looked into this issue. But still. They know that in the regions ArcticArcticFor example, the mosquito is especially valuable for the survival of some plants.
Finally, mosquitoes in the larval state, in particular, eat microorganismsmicroorganisms which are in the water. As well as remains from other insects. Their way of contributing to building the cycle biomassbiomassfrom carboncarbon Andnitrogennitrogen. Some larvae can even filter water and avoid eutrophicationeutrophication environment, which can lead to harmful reproduction of aquatic plants.
An environment with or without mosquitoes?
However, note that mosquitoes are not the only ones that play this role. Therefore, scientists believe that their disappearance will undoubtedly give way to other insects. And since no predator depends solely on mosquitoes… Caution must be exercised as there are currently no serious studies examining the real impact that mosquito extinction could have on ecosystemecosystem.
To avoid the risk of an imbalance, the potential consequences of which scientists themselves are still unaware of, it is undoubtedly preferable to find ways to protect yourself from mosquitoes rather than try to kill them. The recommendations for this are simple. Limit water sources. Because females come here to lay eggs. And remember that it is fertilized females who bite. Another option: Make your garden attractive to mosquito predators. By placing, for example, swallow nests or batbat.
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