Water the Mosquitoes to Help Control
[Mass Rearing of Mosquito Larvae for Fish Food]
Adrian Lawler, Ph.D.
(retired) Aquarium Supervisor (l984-l998) J. L. Scott Aquarium Biloxi, Ms 39530
(from PRWEB)
Aquarticles
Ocean Springs, MS (PRWEB) August 19, 2003 -- A marine biologist-parasitologist wants
people around the world to start controlling mosquitoes by giving them water! This is the
opposite of what disease and health groups around the world have recommended for many
years -- dump out water containers.
Dr. Adrian R. Lawler, who has published papers on various parasites around the world,
cultured many aquatic species for toxicity testing for a state toxicology program for 10
years, ran a public aquarium for 15 years, has a patent on a fish attractant, and has
worked with aquatic organisms for over 50 years, says that by providing water for
mosquitoes, letting them lay their eggs, and then removing the larvae about every 6-10
days, depending on temperature and species, we will decrease the numbers of mosquitoes and
thus the numbers of people getting mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, yellow fever,
dengue fever, west nile, encephalitis, filariasis, etc.
He says his idea is similar to the method used to reduce screwworm fly larvae in cattle
from the southwestern United States, where scientists released sterilized male flies and
thus made the female flies waste their eggs. With mosquitoes we are providing prime laying
areas, then destroying the larvae, thus also making the mosquito females waste their eggs
(from 40 to several hundred eggs per cluster per female depending on the species). This
will lead to fewer mosquitoes and fewer infected people and animals, without the dangers
of possibly harming ourselves and the environment with pesticides.
Mosquitoes cause over a million deaths per year due to the diseases they transmit. They
lay their eggs in things containing water, including hollow trees. People should still
empty various containers where mosquitoes can lay, unless they are going to eliminate the
larvae periodically. Since we can never find and empty all the containers holding water,
it is proposed we have special laying sites for the various disease-transmitting mosquito
species around the world and then control more of their reproduction by eliminating many
of their eggs and larvae. The more laying sites we monitor the more we reduce mosquito
production.
One example of this technique to decrease mosquitoes follows. Mimic the laying sites of
the mosquito species we want to reduce. Use pond, stream, or standing water (because
natural waters already contain mosquito larvae foods such as bacteria, algae, and
protozoa) for the containers. Add a small amount of organic matter (manure, hay, leaves,
seeds, etc) to serve as a food source for bacteria and protozoa.
Let mosquitoes lay eggs in the container that develop to nearly mature larvae. Then,
remove larvae from the water by either using a small mesh net or by pouring the container
water through a small mesh net into a bucket. The water should be saved for return to the
container because it contains a pheromone that tells other mosquitoes that the water is
safe to lay in and thus attracts them to the containers.
A pheromone made from oil from the summer cypress, or burning bush, can also be used to
attract mosquitoes to laying sites. A small amount of organic material should be added
periodically to keep the cultures of algae, bacteria, and protozoa going. One can increase
the number of containers by inoculating the new container with organism-containing and
pheromone-containing water from an established container. Children could be trained to
monitor the containers in poorer parts of the world; automated systems could be developed
for high population areas; bird baths could serve as initial monitored laying sites.
Dr. Lawler said his idea is something humans have done for ages to other animals
--attract them to food, water, salt, laying site, or something else they need so we can
easily slaughter them.
Other scientists are asked to expand on these ideas by ascertaining ways to mimic the
laying sites for the various disease-transmitting mosquito species of the world,
ascertaining the most efficient container sizes for each species, determining the distance
between laying containers to give maximum reduction of mosquito reproduction, and
developing techniques to automatically remove mosquito larvae from the laying containers.
With increasing world population and increasing spread of mosquito-borne diseases it is
predicted that in the future people will be employed to monitor mosquito laying containers
for some cities of the world, and private citizens will decrease mosquito production in
their own living areas to protect themselves.
In addition to having another procedure to control mosquitoes and diseases transmitted
by them, we have an added bonus in that people in poorer countries can dry the mosquito
larvae and sell them for pet fish food for added income.
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