Little mosquito. So common place. So ugly. So smashable.Behold the mundane, but up-close glory of culex nigripalpus. This particular pest is the bane of birds, horses, and humans alike, as it is the primary carrier of many a virus to these species. I would recommend unleashing hordes of mosquito hawks (crane flies) across the Southern U.S. to help erradicate them, but crane flies freak me out, so I'll keep my advice to myself.
Thanks for the photo, Sean.
A fellow student of mine works in a lab with a small mosquito farm. When they feed the mosquitoes, they just roll up their sleeve and stick the arm into the cage for 5 minutes...
ReplyDeleteThat student is braver (or crazier) than I. Ah, the sacrifices we make for the furtherance of science.
ReplyDeleteYet another reason why mosquito farms never caught on as well as ant farms.
ReplyDeleteMosquito farm, I love it! "Mommy, mommy, Billy down the street has a 'Mr. Midge's Funhouse'. Can I have one, too?"
ReplyDeleteCrane flies don't really eat mosquitoes, do they? I thought that was just a misconception because of the "mosquito hawk" moniker.
ReplyDeleteOoh, and I want a mosquito farm, except I want the big, walk-in model. I know some people I'd like to lock inside . . . er . . . I mean who might want to help me feed them.
I think they eat mosquitos, but I am a bit dubious, too.
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