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I am no biologist, but my guess is that if mosquitoes were extinct, some spider species would too, birds would also be affected, and so on.
by gchamonlive 6y ago
I am no biologist, but my guess is that if mosquitoes were extinct, some spider species would too, birds would also be affected, and so on.
- chr1 6y agoThere are many species of mosquitos, only a few of them bite people, even fewer live in cities and less than a handful transmit disease. We could start by killing the latter group.
- Chris2048 6y agoOr breed biteless versions of the biting mozzies? Are there any mosquitos that live entirely on blood?
- 8fingerlouie 6y agoOnly female mosquitos suck blood, and they only suck blood when developing eggs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito#Egg_development_and_blood_digestion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito#Egg_development_and_b...
- zeristor 6y agoAnd bats
- stjo 6y agoYeah, they can go extinct too. That would have saved us a global pandemic or two.
- klodolph 6y agoWhy not wipe out pigs and birds, too? That will take care of some more pandemics. Hope you are not too attached to any of the following crops, which would die off without bats: cacao, peaches, bananas, guava, mango, dates, and figs.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago> Hope you are not too attached to any of the following crops, which would die off without bats: cacao, peaches, bananas, guava, mango, dates, and figs. Fruit bats and mosquito-eating bats are different bats.
- klodolph 6y agoResponding to someone saying bats can go extinct. They didn’t specifically mention a type of bats, so it seems it’s out of hatred for bats in general.
- gchamonlive 6y agothat is what Romans did, turning the landscape into a desert, wiping out every civilization that opposed them, and calling it peace. Sure, no life, means no disease, but that is not really sustainable, isn't it?
- huffmsa 6y agoWolf spiders will take over. I don't think many people will be happy that they've traded small web slinging spiders for 2" diameter hairy ground spiders.
- meerita 6y agoWolf spiders do not hunt mosquitoes. The smaller ones may hunt flies, roaches and other terrestrial insects. Weavers will feast on all flying insects, but mosquitoes who are too small.
- huffmsa 6y agoI know, so getting rid of mosquitoes would get rid of their spider predators, letting would spiders take over.
- throwanem 6y agoDragonflies are pretty ferocious predators of mosquitos where they coexist, and I think I remember reading that dragonfly larvae also prey on mosquito nymphs, although don't quote me on that until I find a cite. A layer further up, many birds include dragonflies in their diet. And a layer further down, fewer dragonflies means more of everything else they prey on, too.