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A Purdue researcher and a team of scientists working on a new insecticide argue that mosquitoes should not simply be made extinct due to their role in various ecosystems. Catherine Hill, a professor of entomology, and her team are developing an insecticide that will suppress mosquitoes' ability to transmit diseases without killing the insect or interfering with other life forms. The team is based in Discovery Park, a research park dedicated to using interdisciplinary teams to solve global problems. Hill's research was one of the winners of Discovery Park's Big Idea Challenge, a program that provides resources to interdisciplinary teams with innovative research.
"For the last 20 years I've been trying to figure out how to kill mosquitoes, and then I had this epiphany where, morally, I'm just not OK with it anymore," she said.
There has been a lack of research in preserving mosquitoes because researchers have looked mostly at ways to eradicate them. Therefore, Hill thinks it is essential to consider all the possible effects of wiping out an organism that has existed for thousands of years. She points out that mosquitoes have co-evolved with many species, so there are likely other organisms that depend on them as a food source.
https://phys.org/news/2017-07-mosquitoes.html
[Source]: Why mosquitoes should not be eliminated
I was reminded of:
Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room. - Christine Todd Whitman
Should there be a "Save the Mosquito" movement?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 12 2017, @04:12PM
Frogs. I stepped outside this morning for a smoke break. Something bright green caught my eye - looked down to see a frog, of some sort. He resembled a common tree frog - or at least what is common here in my part of the country. I think I mentioned "bright" green. So, I stepped around him, and not on him. I watched him for a couple minutes, to see if he were going into the plant, or if he would return to safer territory. But, he didn't move at all. I study him a little more, and realize the ants are crawling all over him. Nudge with the toe of my boot - no movement. He's dead. Damn, I don't know if someone did him in, or he was already sick and dying. Pretty little critter, too. He just didn't quite look like the tree frogs I'm familiar with - the green was brighter, and he had a rounder shape than most of them. Well, he's ant food now.