Millions of mosquitoes to be released..

[AA3JY]

..in the Florida Keys..

https://www.yahoo.com/news/where-mil...110000205.html

[Chotu]

Ahhh. Remember the genetically modified Gypsy Moth caterpillar?

Sounds similar.

[GordMay]

With the aim of reducing rates of the mosquito-borne illnesses yellow fever and dengue, a pilot program will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021, thanks to approval by the barrier islands’ Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday (August 18, 2020).
The strain of GM mosquitoes, known as OX513A, is an altered form of Aedes aegypti created by UK-based biotech firm Oxitec. Released mosquitoes will be all male, as male mosquitoes do not bite and generally only feed on nectar. Thanks to a conditionally lethal genetic variant, when OX513A mosquitoes mate with wild females, their offspring should die before they are old enough for females to begin biting.
The pilot program will target the Florida Keys because A. aegypti mosquitoes are invasive there and are increasingly resistant to insecticides meant to control their numbers.


Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board [FKMCD] Approves Oxitec Pilot
➥ https://keysmosquito.org/2020/08/19/...-oxitec-pilot/

Oxitec Announces Landmark Approval of Florida Keys Pilot Project to Combat Mosquito that Transmits Dengue, Zika
➥ https://www.oxitec.com/en/news/oxite...ts-dengue-zika

Response to Comments OX5034 to the Notice of Receipt of an Application for an Experimental Use Permit Number 93167-EUP-E
➥ https://www.regulations.gov/document...2019-0274-0355

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Ahhh. Remember the genetically modified Gypsy Moth caterpillar?
Sounds similar.

I don't. Could you inform me?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I don't. Could you inform me?

Sure. Just check out the introductory part of the Wikipedia entry:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyps..._United_States

It’s a case of attempting to breed a species to the benefit of man gone awry.

[BillKny]

Finally!

malaria, dengue, zika, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, filariasis, tularemia, dirofilariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Ross River fever, Barmah Forest fever, etc, etc.

They kill miliions of people every year, and disable may more. How many more years should we sit and dither and worry while misinformation and eco extremism rule?

I suggest that only people who have had at least two mosquito born illnesses get a vote. My hand is up, exterminate those suckers!

[JPA Cate]

I know how you feel, but I can sure point to a couple of efforts to control species that haven't worked out as planned. (I'm thinking of the introduction of mixomatosis to control rabbits, and the importation of cane toads to control snakes. In brief, the population developed resistance to the virus; and over about 50 yrs., the snakes evolved to have smaller mouths, and are still a plague in the cane fields.)

It is the unintended consequences that are the problem. And I think it is a valid concern.

It might work out okay. Is that good enough? I kind of doubt it.

Ann

[CaptTom]

Ahhh, the old debate about "playing god."

I see some very good points on both sides. And depending on my mood, I could argue either one.

Today I'm feeling like this is a far less invasive thing than just about everything else humans are doing on this little speck of a planet. We're already sending lots of species into extinction daily. We're already changing the atmosphere and the climate. It's hard to find any spot on the planet which doesn't show visible signs of human activity. At some point we have to admit that we're already "playing god."

In the overall scheme of things, wiping out disease-carrying mosquitoes seems like a good enough return for the level of risk it involves.

[tkeithlu]

Removing all mosquitos could be an ecological disaster, given they are the bottom of the food chain that ultimately reaches.....us. That said, they travel on the winds even more than we do, so eliminating disease carrying mosquitos in Florida may not last very long.

In the meantime, Deet. Deet works. It's available in 100% hand-spray bottles. The other insect repellants are classified as " Barbeque Sauce" by your local Anopheles quadrimaculatus and Anopheles freeborni.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Ahhh, the old debate about "playing god."

I see some very good points on both sides. And depending on my mood, I could argue either one.

Today I'm feeling like this is a far less invasive thing than just about everything else humans are doing on this little speck of a planet. We're already sending lots of species into extinction daily. We're already changing the atmosphere and the climate. It's hard to find any spot on the planet which doesn't show visible signs of human activity. At some point we have to admit that we're already "playing god."

In the overall scheme of things, wiping out disease-carrying mosquitoes seems like a good enough return for the level of risk it involves.

Quite right Tom, we're "playing god" all over this little blue planet. Most of the time it's unintentional, or unthinking. But regardless, we're already altering ecosystems globally, and wiping out whole species without much of a thought.

At least in this case, there is some thought. Hopefully some of it is around the dangers of removing a foundational layer of the food chain.

Intentions do seem good and positive here. It's the unintended consequences of this kind of intervention which often comes back to bite us.

[LoudMusic]

Simpsons did it.

[Olli89]

How they can be released, can someone explain me it accessibly?

[Woodland Hills]

Just to state the obvious: male mosquitoes do not bite humans, only females. They are releasing only male mosquitoes.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Olli89

How they can be released, can someone explain me it accessibly?

Released, as in bred in captivity then dumped into the environment.

[sailorboy1]

if it works I hope they do noseeums next