I totally get the animosity towards mosquitoes. I spend a lot of time birding in swamps and often leave with no fewer than 20 giant bites (and another 10 from fucking horseflies). I used to be in the same camp as you, until someone explained to me that mosquitoes are one of the few species that can survive in places where conditions are harsh, and they’re food not just for land dwelling or airborne animals, but also aquatic species. They’re also important pollinators, especially males since they feed on nectar and not blood.
Eradicating them 20 or 30 years ago would have probably been fine, since other insects could benefit from less competition and likely take up those niches. Today however, insect populations are literally collapsing all around us, and it’s only getting worse. There is less and less food available for those on the bottom of the food chain, and the effects are going to trickle up all the way to us. Mosquitoes may be one of the few species able to ride out the apocalypse we’re currently wreaking on nature.
I think local eradication is still important around human populations, especially for disease-carrying varieties. But leave the rest of them alone. We’ve levelled enough destruction on ecosystems. Save that energy for the true villain - bedbugs.
I totally get the animosity towards mosquitoes. I spend a lot of time birding in swamps and often leave with no fewer than 20 giant bites (and another 10 from fucking horseflies). I used to be in the same camp as you, until someone explained to me that mosquitoes are one of the few species that can survive in places where conditions are harsh, and they’re food not just for land dwelling or airborne animals, but also aquatic species. They’re also important pollinators, especially males since they feed on nectar and not blood.
Eradicating them 20 or 30 years ago would have probably been fine, since other insects could benefit from less competition and likely take up those niches. Today however, insect populations are literally collapsing all around us, and it’s only getting worse. There is less and less food available for those on the bottom of the food chain, and the effects are going to trickle up all the way to us. Mosquitoes may be one of the few species able to ride out the apocalypse we’re currently wreaking on nature.
I think local eradication is still important around human populations, especially for disease-carrying varieties. But leave the rest of them alone. We’ve levelled enough destruction on ecosystems. Save that energy for the true villain - bedbugs.