That humans are inspired by nature is apparent from everything from fine arts to poetry, but why bugs? The efficient way in which bugs are ‘designed’ for their task is exquisite to watch.
And considering the variety within bugs it is unsurprising that some fall into niches that we categorize as pests. Mosquito borne diseases are the biggest human killer in the world.
The humble, and annoying, mosquito hunts out warm bodies with pumping blood using heat sensors, and chemical signatures in our breath and sweat.
Mozzies tend to be the culprit in cases of host-jump, where an animal virus has moved to humans (as seen in bird and swine flu ), as they aren’t so particular in who they bite, so long as theres nourishing blood. But this is mainly small groups of mosquitoes, the Anopheles and Aedes that carry diseases, and only the females at that. Male mozzies are nectar drinkers, it’s the female that needs a protein hit to develop her eggs.
The diversity within mozzies goes as far as pure nectar eaters, and there is even a group that hunt and eat other mozzies, using their powers for ‘good’ (to us anyway).
And the disease carriers are spreading. New Zealand is home to 12 native mozzies, most of which don’t bite humans and are thought to have evolved alongside moa. But we have brought some less savory sorts from warmer climates whose spread we are desperately trying to minimize, although climate change is aiding a slow spread south.
But they aren’t all bad. We have been using bugs to our benefit for centuries, but I’ll leave that for the next post……..
Sofie A Welvaert 
