Does the ecosystem really need Mosquitoes?
I understand that 99.99% of animals have a purpose, either low down the food chain as a food source for other animals, or an apex predator which stop other species from breeding out of control.
My question is 'how important is the Moisquito in the scheme of things?' - I have started a Pro's & Con's table to help decide whether we should just wipe them off the face of Earth..
Mosquito Con's;
-Malaria
-West Nile Fever
-Yellow Fever
-Dengue Fever
-Annoying as hell, itchy bites
Mosquito Pro's;
-Possibly a food source for a number of Species??
Most of the above diseases are bad but Malaria is on the next level. It infects between 300 million and 500 million annually and on average kills a child every 30 seconds. (Over 1 million children deaths a year.)
Back to the original question... Do we really need Mosquitoes...?
Could it be worth investing time and money into a certain poison or Virus that will target and eradicate the species or would the sudden void in the food chain create a larger problem than the Mosquito itself creates?
Nature has a balance, even if we don't know about it. (hate that I had to type in favor of those pesky darn creatures but oh well)
I am curious whether the consequences of disturbing the balance of Nature will be worth making the little blood suckers go extinct lol.
Wouldn't we like to know