Friday, May 11, 2012

What Good Are Mosquitoes?



There isn't much love lost between people and mosquitoes. At the very least, these bloodthirsty insects are major annoyances, biting us with a persistence that can be maddening. If insects can be credited with evil intent, mosquitoes seem determined to wipe the human race out. As carriers of deadly diseases, mosquitoes are the deadliest insect on Earth. Each year, millions of people die from malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever after being bitten by a disease-carrying mosquito. Mosquitoes also carry diseases that pose serious threats to livestock and pets.
With all these strikes against them, it's hard to imagine that mosquitoes fulfill any useful purpose. We forget that mosquitoes populated this planet long before man; the oldest mosquito fossils date back some 200 million years, to the Cretaceous period. Clearly, mosquitoes fill an important ecological niche. So what good are mosquitoes?
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.
Their role on the bottom of the food chain doesn't end at the larval stage, of course. As adults, mosquitoes serve as equally nutritious meals for birds, bats, and spiders.
As much as we loathe them, mosquitoes represent a considerable biomass of food for wildlife on the lower rungs of the food chain. Their extinction, were it even achievable, would have an enormous adverse affect on the entire ecosystem. 



GreenSabah says: A commentator post a question whether there are any purpose of mosquitoes under the article: Do cockroaches have a purpose in life? Yes, mosquitoes like cockroaches may be some irritating pest to human beings, but they do serve an important role on earth as well.  However it is fine to break out the mosquito spray when these little buggers gets on your nerves, they are unlikely to go extinct anyway and some mosquitoes does carry diseases, so have no mercy on them.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

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.

So this is what the mosquito are for.

Anonymous said...

Malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever are deadly diseases, we must keep our environment clean to prevent it becoming a breeding ground for mosquito.

Anonymous said...

setiap hidupan di dunia ada gunanya, walaupun ia dianggap perosak.

Green Sabah said...

All living things coexist and are interdependent, without any one of these living things, the ecosystem will be disrupted.

Green Sabah said...

That's right, we have the responsibility to keep our surrounding clean and free of pest. This is to prevent the diseases like Malaria and Dengue from spreading out.

Green Sabah said...

Mosquito larvae are a source of food for fish and aquatic life. Without these mosquito larvae, the fish will not have sufficient food.

TuhauBam said...

In feeding on blood various species of mosquitoes transmit some of the most harmful human and livestock diseases

Anonymous said...

Some authorities argue accordingly that mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on earth

Anonymous said...

I believe everything is created for a purpose.

Anonymous said...

We still need mosquitoes to help us in doing their part as a source of food!

Anonymous said...

but they are useful too.

Mumbai said...

Bebas denggi dengan tanaman pengusir nyamuk

I think this is a good way to repel insect naturally without the use of chemicals while adding charm to your flower garden..

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