Mosquito Migration: Study Finds More High-Altitude Dispersal of Disease Vectors in Africa
Following the discovery that mosquitoes can ride high-altitude winds to travel long distances, further research is adding to both the scope and variety of species engaged in such migrations—factors sure to complicate efforts to curb transmission of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases in Africa.
Mosquito Populations Linked Across Further Distances Than the Viruses They Carry
In an analysis of mosquito sampling across 20 years in Connecticut, mosquito populations were often correlated at sites 10 kilometers apart and sometimes as far as 40 kilometers apart. But the same data showed the presence of mosquito-borne viruses rarely correlated across distances more than 5 kilometers, complicating potential approaches to managing mosquitoes and the risk of vector-borne disease.
Scale Insects on Urban Trees Benefit Spiders, Other Natural Enemies in Plants Below
Two new studies find even more benefits to tolerating scale insects on urban trees, boosting the abundance of a variety of spiders and attracting predator insects that serve as natural enemies of other pests in both trees and nearby plants.
Honey Bee Virus Found in Mosquitoes
While analyzing genetic signatures of microbes found in mosquitoes, researchers in Canada were surprised to find black queen cell virus, a common scourge of honey bees. The mosquitoes likely acquired it while foraging for nectar at the same plants as bees, but it's unclear if mosquitoes have any role in spreading it among bees.