Some insects are considered beneficial some are not. It depends upon you view point. For example, in Mosquitoes the females are the blood sucking harbingers of disease while the males tend to feed on nectar. The Mosquitoes serve as food source for birds, fish and other insects. Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Zika Fever and many other diseases are carried by many species of Mosquitoes.
Mankind has tried to eradicate Mosquitoes with many methods from pesticides to genetic intervention. But they always seem to make a comeback. Mosquitoes have a built in evolutionary advantage: Generational Reproduction. Most Mosquitoes can have 10 generations in one year depending on the environment. So pesticides including DDT don’t work very long because these insects quickly develop an immunity to just about anything. The main problem with DDT and similar pesticides is that it stays in the environment and those Mosquitoes who survive quickly pass the super genes on to their offspring. There is quite a bit of nonsense about Mosquitoes being eradicated by DDT if we would have kept spraying by clowns who don’t understand basic evolutionary biology. Mosquitoes can have mutations which allow them to become resistant also. They also become resistant to other pesticides in the same class. Genetic intervention also has its own problems and dangers. The type of pesticide that kills the insects and then dissipates in the environment without damage is the best possible match. However, some of the mosquitoes that survive will become super Mosquitoes and some other pesticide must be used. This is very similar to bacteria which quickly reproduce and each strain that survives the antibiotics creates more problems.
Insects are not going away and neither are the problems they create. Many of the problems are caused by environmental degradation and the elimination of species that keep the insect populations in check. The collapse of ecosystems have begun with barely a whisper from the scientific community who believe populations and migration are not the problem. Collapse of systems is evident and most scientists are just looking for another grant “to prolong their research” and keep their job. Magic bullet solutions like “Genetic Intervention” may prove more damaging than people think. Meanwhile do you have symptoms of Lyme Disease….make sure you get a culture. I’ve spent many years identifying, classifying and actually rearing these critters both the good and bad so I might know a few things about them.
