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Mosquitos are dumb

H

Herr Kutz

Platinum Member
Had one buzzing around my food and tried to swat it away. It decided it would fly straight into my cheese grits where it promptly got stuck. I guess there are worse ways to die.
 
What ever happened to the mosquito killing laser system that was being developed? It looked cool on video several years back, but it doesn't seem to have ever been produced.
 
I wish I could catch every asian tiger mosquito in my trap and leave it there for days to die of thirst/malnutrition. Those things are the worst pests ever.
 
Hate them but pretty smart for such a small package:

zeroinginmosquitographic.jpg


Also, just for you:

DL_310MosquitoBite_ANOPHELESSAWS_500.gif


nationalgeographic_1006991-51_wide-95d5c702365b8abacbd139966db8882c875835c7.jpg
 
Another interesting fact is they are not attracted to UV light like most other bugs. This is quite annoying as it makes bug zappers pretty much useless. You can make some chemical reactions to generate CO2 and attract them to a bug zapper though. It did not work when I tried it but only tried it once in very small scale.

I want to experiment with some box fans and high voltage grids one day. Essentially the same kind of grid as those electric rackets but covering the back of a box fan. Not sure where you would buy such thing in bulk though. Turn it on and place them all around the camp fire. Could be battery powered or something, for camping. Then charge via solar during the day.
 
Mosquitoes are an important part of the ecosystem and feed from fish to birds:

"Bats
While bats eat mosquitoes, they are far more effective at locating, catching and eating insects other than mosquitoes.

Birds
Many birds will eat mosquitoes. The more important among these are purple martins, swallows, waterfowl (geese, terns, ducks) and migratory songbirds. Bird predators usually eat both the adult and aquatic stages of mosquitoes.

Fish
Goldfish, guppies, bass, bluegill and catfish prey on mosquito larvae. But the most important fish predator, by far, is the Gambusia affinis, commonly known as the mosquito fish. This is probably the most effective predator of mosquito larvae and is used by many mosquito control agencies to augment their control efforts.

Frogs and Tadpoles
Most adult frogs and tadpoles do not include mosquitoes as a large part of their diet. Tadpoles infrequently feed on mosquito larvae and instead generally feed on small, suspended particles of plant-related materials. However, mosquito larvae predation is known for three species of North American tadpoles – the spade foot toad, green tree frog and giant tree frog. While not a direct act of predation, tadpoles may compete with mosquito larvae for food.

Turtles
The red-eared slider turtle is generally thought to be the most voracious turtle that feeds on mosquito larvae.

Insects that prey on mosquitoes include:

Dragonflies
Dragonflies are often referred to as “mosquito hawks.” Though they do eat mosquitoes, they do not eat enough mosquitoes to do much harm to wild populations. One feature that favors dragonflies as mosquito predators is that in the dragonflies’ aquatic stage, most of its food consists of mosquito larvae.

Damselflies
While damselflies are not as effective in controlling mosquitoes as dragonflies, their aquatic stage also consumes many mosquito larvae.

Predacious mosquitoes
Some mosquitoes prey on other mosquitoes. The most notable being the predatory mosquitoes in the genus Toxorhynchites. These mosquitoes provide a double benefit since the larvae are predacious on other mosquito larvae and the adults are not known to transmit disease.

Both adult and larval species of aquatic beetles will consume mosquito larvae and pupae. Two beetles that readily eat the aquatic stages of mosquitoes are the predaceous diving beetle and the water scavenger beetles. However, they will consume many types of aquatic insects other than mosquitoes.

Spiders
Spiders become mosquito predators when a mosquito inadvertently flies into a spider’s web where it is encased and eaten."

https://www.orkin.com/other/mosquitoes/mosquito-predators/

Haven't humans killed off enough species already? Are they the problem or are we?
 
there was a sketch comedy show that did a save the mosquitoes skit. can't remember, maybe it was the state?
 
Thebobo said:
Birds and Bats other insects and small animals.

But interesting question so
Ecology: A world without mosquitoes
https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html
Click to expand...

Yeah, but it's such an insignificant percentage of their diets that it could likely be replaced by other bio loads. I think that review article suggests that.

But we don't even have to eradicate all mosquitoes--just the malaria and yellow fever vectors, which is only a handful of species, which, in itself, would provide for a solid environmental study and little to no concern for eradicating an entire genus.
 
bradly1101 said:
Mosquitoes are an important part of the ecosystem and feed from fish to birds:
...
Haven't humans killed off enough species already? Are they the problem or are we?
Click to expand...

Did you even read what you listed as a supporting argument? None of those listed eat mosquitoes ONLY so mosquitoes are not all that important. They however are all that as useless pests.
 
zinfamous said:
Yeah, but it's such an insignificant percentage of their diets that it could likely be replaced by other bio loads. I think that review article suggests that.

But we don't even have to eradicate all mosquitoes--just the malaria and yellow fever vectors, which is only a handful of species, which, in itself, would provide for a solid environmental study and little to no concern for eradicating an entire genus.
Click to expand...

What makes me worry if the mosquito is erradicated, another mosquito species may take its place. And if it becomes part of the lifecycle of the problematic parasite or virus, problems will start over again.
The parasites need to be erradicated , but that is difficult because even some viruses may be part of the genetic makeup of some animal. And parasites love water.
 
rh71 said:
Did you even read what you listed as a supporting argument? None of those listed eat mosquitoes ONLY so mosquitoes are not all that important. They however are all that as useless pests.
Click to expand...
I don't know, irritation is an opportunity to observe the mind's shackle; the thought process. Also mosquito-borne diseases really test your mettle.

Yes, most animals have more than one food source, but take one away and others are sure to follow. There's a non-Deet natural repellent that Consumer Reports rated highly based on exhaustive testing.
 
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