Are Mosquitoes Good Pollinators?
WouterAlmost every continent on earth has mosquitoes, but they don’t all bite humans. There are only about 100 species that transmit diseases.
Some species prefer to eat insects or other animals, while others rely on plants for food. But all of these creatures do provide valuable ecosystem services.
One example is the use of nectar-hungry mosquitoes for pollination. These organisms use large swarms to visit flowers, where they deposit pollen. The males then press a long proboscis against a spur to collect the nectar. When the insect flies away, the sticky pollen sticks to the mosquito’s eye.
The use of mosquitoes for pollination has been observed as early as the 19th century. In the Arctic, plants rely on vast swarms of these organisms for pollination. They are also the source of food for some insect-eating animals, including caribou.
A group of researchers from the University of Washington studied the feeding behavior of mosquitoes on orchid flowers. They found that these mosquitoes drank nectar from the floral spur of the orchid, but not blood. They then analyzed the chemical compounds of the orchid’s scent using mass spectrometry. They discovered that the flower’s odour contained some of the constituents of human smell.
The University of Washington researchers also uncovered a few floral cues that attract mosquitoes. They used these cues to study the feeding behavior of mosquitoes on the blunt-leaf bog orchid.
These findings suggest that the ancient connection between insects and flowers likely influenced mosquito evolution.
