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Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country | Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the few places in the world without the insects (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 9 months ago by [M] to c/climate@slrpnk.net
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[–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

I don't understand how a flying insect can be kept out of an area. Do you have a strategy in mind?

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    It's not completely possible but if you could create a situation where mortality is so high or reproduction is impossible for them, you could keep populations very low even if some wander in.

    They have genetically modified mosquitoes that cause sterility in the ones they mate with, which have been used successfully to greatly reduce the population of the species in question. So this is the best existing technology IMO but it probably will require a confluence of techniques.

    But care should be taken that it doesn't harm non-target organisms and doesn't spread out of control.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    I think that would wipe out the target species if it were effective. I know they have GMO mosquitoes whose bodies will kill particular pathogens rather than spread them, and I feel like that's a safer idea. But maybe the species which target humans aren't ecologically important; I don't really know.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    It only wipes them out in the area of release. Because they’re sterile, they can’t spread to other regions.

    From what I’ve seen they’ve only been used on introduced mosquito species which are less likely to have much impact on native ecosystems anyway. Most of the mosquitoes that live in cities are introduced cosmopolitan species.

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