Faculty Publications and Presentations

Publication Date

6-22-2022

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Biology | Life Sciences

Abstract

Mosquitoes have been challenging man and animals alike since the fall.Mosquitoes number in the trillions worldwide. Not only is the mosquito a nuisance with the constant buzz around your ear, they also are the primary vector of many dangerous diseases including the West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV has become a more prominent mosquito-transmitted disease in the United States and more specifically in Colorado, Texas, and other states in the Midwest. While commonly found in the genus Culex, WNV and other diseases can be found in differentgenera of mosquito, including Aedes and Anopheles. While these two are not themost common regarding WNV, they still play a significant role in the environment. While the mosquito is typically put on the “enemy’s list” for most, they do, however,play a vital role in assisting with phoresis and pollination. In fact, without the mosquito, some of our favorite plants, including the flowers known as orchids where the male counterparts of the subspecies of the Aedes population provide most of the pollination, would not exist. The mosquito, while sometimes a nuisance and a dangerous carrier of unwanted disease, has a significant role in the success of the environment that was implemented by the Creator.

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