Ever Wondered Whether Mosquitoes Do Any Good To Dayton, MD Residents
You probably don’t care much for the mosquitoes hovering around Howard County. Despite their diminutive size, they have the potential to delete the human population. Mosquitoes are super-effective when it comes to spreading deadly diseases like malaria and Chikungunya. These affect hundreds of thousands of people every year. Not only that, but they can also cause serious harm to livestock.
Even so, have you ever wondered why these annoying bugs should be let live? Are they in any way useful to us? Remember the lessons you learned during your biology class? You may need to recall some of them here.
…mosquitoes serve important functions in numerous ecosystems, serving as food for many species, helping filter detritus for plant life to thrive, pollinating flowers, and even affecting the herding paths of caribou in the tundra. Last, scientists are looking at the mosquito for potential medical treatments.
The Food Web
Mosquito larvae are aquatic insects and, as such, play an important role in the aquatic food chain. According to Dr. Gilbert Waldbauer in “The Handy Bug Answer Book,” Mosquito larvae are filter feeders that strain tiny organic particles such as unicellular algae from the water and convert them to the tissues of their own bodies, which are, in turn, eaten by fish. Mosquito larvae are, in essence, nutrient-packed snacks for fish and other aquatic animals. Read more at ThoughtCo…
Going by the scientists’ reports, you have mosquitoes to thank for being part of your fish’s diet. Mosquitoes are also a source of food for birds, insects, and amphibians, among others. You probably don’t believe this, but you can do your own research on it.
Another reason you need to appreciate the presence of mosquitoes is their ability to clean up the environment. Wondering how? Read this…
Mosquitoes Remove Waste (To Make Compost)
Mosquito larvae are always hungry. They emerge from eggs laid by female mosquitoes in stagnant pools of water, and can even thrive in moist soil. As long is it is in water, a mosquito egg will develop into a mosquito larva. In a single acre of soggy land, you might find a million eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae. Larvae develop into adult mosquitoes within a week to ten days. During this time, all they do is eat.
Mosquito larvae eat algae, parasites, fungus, and other microorganisms. And they eat all the time. This means that mosquito larvae can get through a lot of ‘detritus’ (or biological waste) in just a few days. So top points for mosquito larvae as natural waste removers! Read more at End Mosquitoes.Com…
You’re probably thinking “let’s work with the larvae and eliminate the adult mosquitoes” right? Well, larvae come from eggs laid by adult female mosquitoes. These are the very same ones that bite you. So, this is quite a dilemma!
As much as we would love to see the end of mosquitoes entirely, their presence is helping in the process of scientific discovery.
Of about 3,500 mosquito species around the world, only a few have taken to specifically targeting people for biting, making them important spreaders of infectious diseases. To predict and help control the spread of those mosquito-borne illnesses, it’s important to know where and why, evolutionarily speaking, certain mosquitoes got their taste for biting humans in the first place. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on July 23 have identified two major factors: a dry climate and city life. Based on these findings, they predict that increased urbanization in the coming decades will mean even more human-biting mosquitoes in the future. Read more at Phys…
There are many more contributions that mosquitoes make to our world. If you do your homework, you’ll soon discover there are many other ways mosquitoes help us. In fact, their presence could just be the reason why you are employed!
It’s also important to note that not all mosquitoes are harmful. But the very few harmful ones can do a lot of damage to our health and that of your loved ones. This is why Backyard Bug Patrol exists. Call us for our comprehensive mosquito control plan that will protect your home completely. After all, healthy boundaries have never been a bad thing.