3 ms·

Mosquitoes, Snakes & Jellyfish. Everyone else is welcome to live long & prosper but those 3 we should just remove from our planet...

lukan 1y ago
Ticks are sometimes more annoying and way less ecological useful. (without mosquitos for example there would be way less birds, bats, ...)
- jvanderbot 1y ago
  Lots and lots of delicious ground-dwelling birds eat ticks (Turkey, Chicken, Quail), but they'd figure something else out.
  - lukan 1y ago
    But not as their main source of food as far as I know. Bugs, worms and spiders are way bigger and more common.
- acdha 1y ago
  I’ve seen researchers suggesting that mosquitoes aren’t a big enough part of anything’s diet to be missed: https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a
  - cultofmetatron 1y ago
    there's a large amount of endangered and critically important species for which the strongest reason the general public accepts for why we should accommodate them is "they eat X in mosquitos every night"
    - charliebwrites 1y ago
      What are those species?
      - kulahan 1y ago
        Probably tons of bats and small nocturnal mammals.
- bryanlarsen 1y ago
  The serious proposals to eliminate mosquitoes only propose to eliminate the mosquito species that carry nasty human diseases. If those species were eliminated other mosquito species would quickly expand to replace the eliminated species. So that's good for the birds, and bad for the humans that want to get rid of all the pesky annoying mosquitoes, not just get rid of mosquito born disease.
  - henearkr 1y ago
    Although you can just make the disease carriers immune to the disease. In that case, not even need to exterminate any species. That's typically done by introducing some Wolbachia in their gut.
- guelo 1y ago
  Yes, all the ectoparasites, look it up. We've eliminated most endoparasites that used to live inside us. If we figure out how to, we should eliminate the ectos, including mosquitos.
RajT88 1y ago
Sneks eat a lot of rodents and various garden wreckers. Unless you live somewhere where they are poisonous and bitey, they are fine. Non-poisonous snakes far outnumber the poisonous ones.
- Zancarius 1y ago
  I live in an area where we have these[1], and they're generally not something you see all that often. Their biggest danger isn't their venom (they're less venomous than the diamondback) so much as their curiosity, which can get them into locations they otherwise don't belong. They aren't overly aggressive snakes, and I've encountered them several times over the years. Alon with bullsnakes, they're extremely useful for getting rid of said rodents—which CAN carry awful pathogens, like hanta virus! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_rattlesnake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_rattlesnake
  - RajT88 1y ago
    I lived in NC for 6 months once. My boss at the time told me I'd need to watch out for copperheads in September when they come out. Indeed, I did have to shoo one off a bike path when September came.
    - Zancarius 11mo ago
      It's August for us here in the SW US, but there's been construction in the area that has displaced a number of them at odd times of the year. Fortunately, snakes will generally leave you alone unless they're provoked or cornered. Unfortunately, if you have curios animals (cats, dogs) it can be a much more significant problem!
- zikduruqe 1y ago
  Venomous snakes far outnumber the poisonous ones.
  - RajT88 1y ago
    I see I am dealing with a senior level pedant. Well done, sir!
pfdietz 1y ago
We have only nonvenomous snakes where I live. They are welcome in the yard. My only concern is running over them with the mower.
vee-kay 1y ago
Nah, snakes and jellyfish serve a valid purpose in the ecosystem. But yeah, mosquitoes and cockroaches should be made extinct, even if they are tough critters. Talking of tough though.. Say hello to the only creature that's evolved to cheat death itself: the Immortal Jellyfish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/immortal_jellyfish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/immortal_jellyfish
- kulahan 1y ago
  As I understand it, scientists believe that lobsters are also functionally immortal, just not invulnerable. I think the problem is that after a while, it takes so many calories to continue molting, they simply can't hold enough in their bodies or something? Anyways, they don't have an old age problem like you'd expect.
vunderba 1y ago
Snakes and jellyfish sounds more like a phobia issue. The three on my "eliminate at all costs" have always been mosquitos, fleas, and ticks.
- cpursley 1y ago
  Jellyfish blooms actually are an ecological issue in some places. They thrive under certain conditions and wreck fish populations.

lukan 1y ago

Ticks are sometimes more annoying and way less ecological useful. (without mosquitos for example there would be way less birds, bats, ...)

jvanderbot 1y ago
Lots and lots of delicious ground-dwelling birds eat ticks (Turkey, Chicken, Quail), but they'd figure something else out.
- lukan 1y ago
  But not as their main source of food as far as I know. Bugs, worms and spiders are way bigger and more common.
acdha 1y ago
I’ve seen researchers suggesting that mosquitoes aren’t a big enough part of anything’s diet to be missed: https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a https://www.nature.com/articles/466432a
- cultofmetatron 1y ago
  there's a large amount of endangered and critically important species for which the strongest reason the general public accepts for why we should accommodate them is "they eat X in mosquitos every night"
  - charliebwrites 1y ago
    What are those species?
    - kulahan 1y ago
      Probably tons of bats and small nocturnal mammals.
bryanlarsen 1y ago
The serious proposals to eliminate mosquitoes only propose to eliminate the mosquito species that carry nasty human diseases. If those species were eliminated other mosquito species would quickly expand to replace the eliminated species. So that's good for the birds, and bad for the humans that want to get rid of all the pesky annoying mosquitoes, not just get rid of mosquito born disease.
- henearkr 1y ago
  Although you can just make the disease carriers immune to the disease. In that case, not even need to exterminate any species. That's typically done by introducing some Wolbachia in their gut.
guelo 1y ago
Yes, all the ectoparasites, look it up. We've eliminated most endoparasites that used to live inside us. If we figure out how to, we should eliminate the ectos, including mosquitos.

RajT88 1y ago

Sneks eat a lot of rodents and various garden wreckers. Unless you live somewhere where they are poisonous and bitey, they are fine. Non-poisonous snakes far outnumber the poisonous ones.

Zancarius 1y ago
I live in an area where we have these[1], and they're generally not something you see all that often. Their biggest danger isn't their venom (they're less venomous than the diamondback) so much as their curiosity, which can get them into locations they otherwise don't belong. They aren't overly aggressive snakes, and I've encountered them several times over the years. Alon with bullsnakes, they're extremely useful for getting rid of said rodents—which CAN carry awful pathogens, like hanta virus! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_rattlesnake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_rattlesnake
- RajT88 1y ago
  I lived in NC for 6 months once. My boss at the time told me I'd need to watch out for copperheads in September when they come out. Indeed, I did have to shoo one off a bike path when September came.
  - Zancarius 11mo ago
    It's August for us here in the SW US, but there's been construction in the area that has displaced a number of them at odd times of the year. Fortunately, snakes will generally leave you alone unless they're provoked or cornered. Unfortunately, if you have curios animals (cats, dogs) it can be a much more significant problem!
zikduruqe 1y ago
Venomous snakes far outnumber the poisonous ones.
- RajT88 1y ago
  I see I am dealing with a senior level pedant. Well done, sir!

pfdietz 1y ago

We have only nonvenomous snakes where I live. They are welcome in the yard. My only concern is running over them with the mower.

vee-kay 1y ago

Nah, snakes and jellyfish serve a valid purpose in the ecosystem. But yeah, mosquitoes and cockroaches should be made extinct, even if they are tough critters. Talking of tough though.. Say hello to the only creature that's evolved to cheat death itself: the Immortal Jellyfish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/immortal_jellyfish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/immortal_jellyfish

kulahan 1y ago
As I understand it, scientists believe that lobsters are also functionally immortal, just not invulnerable. I think the problem is that after a while, it takes so many calories to continue molting, they simply can't hold enough in their bodies or something? Anyways, they don't have an old age problem like you'd expect.

vunderba 1y ago

Snakes and jellyfish sounds more like a phobia issue. The three on my "eliminate at all costs" have always been mosquitos, fleas, and ticks.

cpursley 1y ago
Jellyfish blooms actually are an ecological issue in some places. They thrive under certain conditions and wreck fish populations.