In an effort to fight the extinction of the rare local birds, which suffer from diseases spread by mosquitoes, hundreds of thousands of laboratory-bred mosquitoes are dropped in Hawaii using helicopters and drones • The mosquitoes do not bite and cannot reproduce, which is designed to reduce the population of harmful mosquitoes • 33 species of birds have already become extinct in Hawaii
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In recent years, Hawaii has been dealing with the alarming phenomenon of the disappearance of rare birds on the islands – and this year they decided to take a particularly creative step. During the summer, dozens of biodegradable capsules were dropped from the air on Hawaiian forests, each of which contained about a thousand mosquitoes, according to a report on the CNN network that put a spotlight on the phenomenon.
These are not just mosquitoes, but laboratory-bred, non-biting males that carry a bacteria that causes their eggs to fail to hatch when they mate with wild females. The hope is that the move will help control the population of mosquitoes invading the archipelago, which endangers local bird populations, such as the rare “Hawaiian Peregrine”.
Along with their ecological importance, birds are a central part of Hawaiian culture, and they are in dire straits in the region today. In the past there were over 50 known species of plovers in Hawaii, but today only 17 species remain, most of them endangered. Only last year one of the species became extinct.
Human activity and deforestation have an effect, but according to Dr. Chris Farmer, an expert in the field, the main existential threat is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes. According to the expert, due to the warming of the area, the mosquitoes are rising higher and higher up the mountains, which leaves no room for birds to live and leads to the risk of extinction.
As part of the operation, the local authorities are releasing about a million mosquitoes a week in Hawaii, using helicopters and drones. Farmer explains that this solution may be more effective and less harmful than other solutions that have been tried, such as pesticides, since it does not harm the local insect populations that are vital to ecosystems.