Discussions

for very practical reasons!!  
 
what we really need as a solution to the mosquito's is an attitude adjustment.  
 
there has been lots of divide and negativity towards people who are for/against fogging.. well, i just wanted to list a few things mosquitos are actually good for  
 
1. As their main diet, believe it or not, is actually nectar, they are a tremendous source of cross pollination  
 
2. In the scheme of the food chain, these creatures are at the bottom and top at the same time. Though we hate to admit, they are a comical predator of humans, in a way. They also strive at the low point providing for higher predators, as exampled below  
 
3. As larvae, they provide nutrition for variety of creatures, such as dragonfly nymphs, fish, water scorpion, water strider, and water flea to name a few. As adults, they provide an eminent source for birds, spiders, bats, dragonflies, lizards and frogs.  
 
Without mosquitos, many of these organisms would die out. While we may fervently wish this could happen, these diseases also serve a purpose in the ecosystem, by culling weaker animals and strengthening the survivor's natural resistance to these illnesses. With strong resistance or tolerance for some of these organisms, the interaction becomes more mutual and less threatening to both.  
While you may gladly slap the mosquito that lands on your arm to bite, or install the bug zapper in hopes of clearing at least your tiki lounge of their noxious buzzing, remember that large-scale eradication of the mosquito not only dooms many other species to hunger, but can also pollute the environment.  
 
4. Evan though they are routinely eaten, those that aren't provide a useful service as well. They eat tiny organisms and pieces of algae that form on the surfaces of any pool of water open to the sunlight. Through this they help to stop a pond becoming stagnant and overgrown. Overgrown pools of water tend to become de-oxygenated, killing all the other inhabitants that breathe through the water rather than breathing air.  
 
This is why mosquitoes are vital to the survival of many species on the earth. They might be annoying and to some extent dangerous. But removing them from the ecosystem would cause many food chains to collapse, and species to die out. So by all means kill any you might find in your house, but wiping them out on a large scale would be a disaster we should all avoid.  
 
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" Mosquitoes do suck blood and transmit diseases because of their unfortunate habit of occasionally feasting on blood, but only a few of the mosquito species are of any major concern. The major diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include Dengue fever, encephalitis, malaria, and Ross River virus. They can also be a damn nuisance if you are outside trying to enjoy a barbeque, or inside on a humid summer evening trying to get to sleep.  
 
Mosquitoes belong to the same family as flies (Culicidae). They have six legs and two scaly wings. The mosquito has a big nose called a proboscis which protects its piercing and sucking mouthparts. The mosquito larva is aquatic and much admired as a treat by fish and frogs. The adult is terrestrial and most stay within two kilometres of their original breeding place. Some never stray beyond a few metres from the place where they were born.  
 
The female mosquito lives about three weeks, but the male has an even shorter lifespan. They mostly feed on nectar and other plant material, but when the female is developing eggs a good blood meal is required for protein. When the young hatch, the young wrigglers are aquatic and eventually develop into pupae (tumblers), which are comma-shaped and which emerge as adult mosquitoes.  
 
So, what are mosquitoes good for? While many humans might say that mosquitoes are good for nothing, they actually have an important role to play in the web of life. Like all other creatures, they are part of this web and have as great a part to play in the life cycle as any other creatures. Looked at under the microscope, mosquitoes and their larvae are beautiful and complex creatures and like all other creatures they have their place in nature.  
 
Every creature has its place in the web of life, and mosquitoes are no different. They have place in nature too ".