We Helped Make Mosquitoes A Problem

Check out Crash Course Botany: • Botany
Around 6,000 years ago, in the Sahel region of Africa, a lone female mosquito buzzed through the lush, green savannah. She couldn’t know it, but the planet itself was about to change in ways that would see her descendants evolve to live very different lives. A sudden ecological shift would force them to go from living in forests and feeding on a range of animals to specializing on just one single species: us.
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References: docs.google.com/document/d/1f...

[@josephrojas9097]

Thanks, I hate them.

[@VickyCrescent]

Me too.

[@txzk26]

*We comrade, we. We hate them

[@sshah2545]

As do we all

[@andresardon841]

Me too.

[@harukatakahashi8822]

How about the males? They don't sucked on blood and the elephant mosquito doesn't sucked blood at all

[@eatenman1235]

That's really amazing how it took the entire tilt of our planet and human advancements in agriculture to evolve such a destructive insect

[@LuisSierra42]

I am become death, destroyer of humans - aedes aegypti

[@blackenedmagic888]

And something as odious as the slave-trade to help bring them to the Americas.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

It didn't they already existed. They already preyed on us always. We just gave them a convenient home when our population started to grow. No different than pigeons in the city.

[@MrBishop077]

That planet there .. Its a DeathWorld! .. /hfy

[@sethreign8103]

i think intrusive is more applicable than destructive in this context @eatenman1235

[@qwera48]

For us Brazilians, this mosquito is maybe the biggest health system challenge during rainy months, dengue is not rare at all, and very dangerous.

[@lakrids-pibe]

É o pau, é a pedra, é o fim do caminho ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

[@msruag]

@@lakrids-pibe HELP THATS SO RANDOM

[@qwera48]

@@msruag why is it random

[@BoycottChinaa]

Dengue Fever also a great band, sooo

[@juanyusee8197]

They are a big problem here in Malaysia too.

[@Travis_661]

Long live the Dragonfly! May they protect us from the scourge!

[@binkwillans5138]

They're not a scourge, they're God's loving creation.

[@MossyMozart]

@travis5914 - And be thankful for insect chomping birds and bats.

[@leeleaman8057]

“Global misery for billions of people” Yup sounds like a mosquito :’D

[@MossyMozart]

@leeleaman8057 - And they torment some of us more than others. >_

[@williamfrederick9670]

The African humid period was actually caused by TOTO blessing the rains down in Africa

[@aaronsinger]

Okay, I'ma have that song in my head all day now, thanks a lot!

[@aevangel1]

​@@aaronsinger You say that like it's a bad thing... 😛

[@topkek996]

It was also devastating for the african vampire population

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

True

[@lonestarr1490]

@@topkek996 😂

[@trinathebookworm8977]

1) As soon as you said it's our fault i knew that it's because we store water, and 2) the mosquito bite on my back is itching again. Thanks for that.

[@justplay6315]

And here I was thinking the video uploader did some heavy weight mistake like feeding them 💀😂

[@johannageisel5390]

Last year a purchased a heat thingy (from the company Beurer in this case) that you can apply to mosquito bites. It works very well against the itching, better than antihistamine gel. Can recommend it.

[@baishalideb5565]

just wipe the area with plain water ...itch gone

[@xavis_dad]

The guy that thought of the lid. -GigaChad Guy birthing the scam of selling poison left from oil refinement -literal Apocalyptic AntiChrist

[@xavis_dad]

​@@baishalideb5565mmmnah

[@UGNAvalon]

So since we helped bring aegypti into this world, that means we shouldn’t feel so bad about trying to take them out of it, right? 😁

[@FatFluffyFurballs-xx7on]

💯🤣

[@dragonflybug1577]

Nah I’d burned them regardless

[@user-ff7jb9wn4n]

Nah gotta take responsibility.

[@Iwetbeds]

@@user-ff7jb9wn4n I'm pretty sure removing the problem we helped create IS taking responsibility.

[@Toven_WaveWatcherFi]

It wouldn't even cross my mind feeling bad about removing aedes

[@MasterFlores35]

I was just thinking to myself yesterday why mosquitoes and flies or bugs in general that suck blood exist. I know they get eaten by other bugs but yeah, it would be awesome if there was a way they went extinct without hindering the rest of the food web.

[@Burn_Angel]

I was just thinking to myself why global weather changing species exist, and why don't they go extinct. Then I remember that yeah, the algae that made Snowball Earth did went extinct. We better consider our stance about global warming...

[@joshuaashton1929]

I mean, they’re parasites. They literally have no place in the food web. We can literally make them go extinct right now and it wouldn’t affect anything. Millions of lives will be saved every single year. But nooooo, apparently it’s inhumane to exterminate a pest.

[@jessehunter362]

parasites are critical for ecology, you cannot make them go extinct without destroying food webs

[@theGreekSannin]

@Burn_Angel I'm personally glad the K-Pg extinction put an end to those corrupt dinosaur CEOs and corporations 😂

[@ThaTyphon]

They are known as biomass, they help feed the other organisms like birds and spiders.

[@bobemor]

Also interesting to think about the subspecies appearing within these urban islands. Like the London Tube Mosquito

[@ilayohana3150]

Lmao you heard about it from eons

[@yallimsorry5983]

@@ilayohana3150yeah it’s a good informative show. Don’t be a jerk

[@tomasbeltran04050]

HaI

[@trevinbeattie4888]

I just have to ask: what sort of people pose for a close-up shot of a mosquito sucking on their blood? I mean these are great video clips, but I can’t imagine voluntarily suffering the consequences of the feeding just for art’s sake.

[@kittimcconnell2633]

I wonder the same thing. And do these scientific film crews have an effective medicine to treat those bites?

[@joa6984]

Most likely clean mosquitoes, lab bred.

[@lauraeshelman766]

I know I've seen people purposely get bitten for studies which was horrifying but I wonder if these people are theucky few who aren't allergic?

[@TigirlakaLaserwolf6]

You've never just let one go at it, just to see how long they can drink for?

[@laprimeradama]

No!

[@souffle420]

As a survivor of three different variants of Dengue Fever (the third one was the worst lol), I can proudly say I *_loathe_* this species with passion. Also somehow, Carbofuran (Furadan) works really well against those guys, so I just sprinkle few grams on my water plants. They last for months, and as long as no one drink those water (because they're toxic as hell), it should be fine.

[@Kowyn]

Within the last 15 year's my area has become a mosquito Haven, from march to june if you step outside you're covered in hundreds of mosquitoes within moments, I quit literally dress like a bee keeper to do anything outside and without deet I'd be carried off.

[@kittimcconnell2633]

Find where they're breeding. When I moved to my current house, there were little breeding pools EVERYWHERE - old buckets, cans and bottles, tires, clogged roof gutters were probably the worst problem. Got all those cleared out and we have almost no mosquito problems anymore. Mosquitoes LOVE to breed in abandoned cups and soda cans.

[@Kowyn]

@@kittimcconnell2633 unfortunately it's natural pools, I'm a few KM from a river, the high water season last much longer these days resulting in more bugs.

[@ihatehaters4794]

If you can’t deal with them completely, maybe introduce spiders or other mosquito predators in the area to control their population

[@wolfie1703]

@@ihatehaters4794This is terrible advice do not EVER release anything non-native into your local ecosystem EVER

[@Noa_Lynn]

@@wolfie1703actually it’s not because they didn’t say anything about non-native/invasive species.

[@AsahiYuban]

It would be cool to have a monthly pill to repel mosquitos like dogs have. I heard the reason dogs can have oral insect repelling medications is because they have a shorter lifespan and don't have to worry about longterm effects. Unfortunately, mosquitos have always loved my blood and i have terrible reactions to their bites that leave scars.

[@Raelven]

Flea meds for pets are a neurotoxin for fleas. The drug causes the flea to have serotonin overload and die. Need something like that for humans. Not holding my breath tho.

[@Metqa]

Meanwhile, there is catnip...

[@Metqa]

The fleas have to bite the animal to get a toxic dose. That wouldn't help you if you are allergic to the bite itself. Get some catnip essential oil and make a topical spray with alcohol and distilled water. That will temporarily repell mosquitoes for a short while of about 30 min, and as effective as DEET. Look it up.

[@estebancamachomartinez724]

We use thiamine as a dietary supplement, which helps deter mosquito bites. Fairly common in Colombia.

[@nomorepikachu]

These oral medications aren’t actually repelling. The insect has to latch on to the host to drink and then dies of the pesticides in the blood. But it’s still effective in preventing diseases since then can’t drink long enough to pass them on. I recommend to everyone to use effective prevention and not some quack snakeoil products. They really do not work and people just risk losing their dogs because oh no evil chemicals.

[@MAGAeminem]

*Solution*: Get drunk enough that any mosquito who drinks your blood will crash 🍻

[@captaintoyota3171]

Just like bed bugs. The ones who survived DDT in 1920s-40s are allmost impossible to get rid of=infestations on rose. In 50s they wjere pretty much gone

[@electrictroy2010]

@captaintoyota3171 Bed bugs are not immune to DDT. It still works but we banned its use, because it was affecting birds. The substitute is pyramide (sp?) which I bought from amazon. Very effective. Killed both bed bugs & eggs within days.

[@adamgoodwin9766]

Many of the videos of "Aedes aegypti" are actually of Aedes albopitcus, which is a common nuisance mosquito, much less capable of carrying disease. Look at 0:55-1:00 (aegypti) and compare to the clips from 1:00-1:15 (albopitcus), and see if you can spot the difference. 👀

[@Northerner-NotADoctor]

👍

[@ghiggs8389]

I just replied the same (but without timestamps 😀)

[@alyssahansen1400]

Is the difference the stripes on the thorax? Seems Aegypti has more and they are less bold?

[@gabriellasteele727]

Thank you, you saved me a lot of time from making a similar post! I really appreciate this video, but the two are very different species! Ae. albopictus is my favorite species and I actively work in mosquito research, so it’s abundantly clear on first glance.

[@bullymaguire632]

though albopictus can also spread the diseases aegypti spreads, except for one of them which i think is chikungunya

[@frankied.roosevelt6232]

Can we talk about no-see-ums (biting midges) and how bad theyve been too as of late? Cause in absence of mosquitoes, you get biting midges. And they carry many similar blood borne risks and exist EVERYWHERE.. except antarctic.. unlike skeets.

[@ilayohana3150]

I cant believe theyre actually called no see ums in english

[@Zoologhffc77]

I mean as much as this one mosquito might not be everywhere, mosquitos as a whole are in every non arctic continent.

[@Stierenkloot]

@@ilayohana3150they are called biting midges

[@ilayohana3150]

theyre also called no see ums neither is the scientific name anyway@@Stierenkloot

[@ryanreedgibson]

Never heard of it. I would assume if they're in Africa they'd survive in Arizona.

[@Raelven]

I grow Venus fly trap plants. They catch average of 5-10 mosquitos and flies per plant, per week. Edit: Anyone else notice that some mosquitos no longer buzz? Making them impossible to deflect.

[@binkwillans5138]

That's natural selection.

[@GenaTrius]

I heard there were relatively few mosquitos here in Washington State until about this past year, which is also when I came from Florida. I'm just still wearing bug spray.

[@Zoologhffc77]

Nah we've had skeetos my whole life. As long as you don't chill shirtless by a creek in the evening your shoooould be mostly biteless

[@Demopans5990]

More so the winter cold didn't kill them off. You need a long freeze in order to really control the population

[@binkwillans5138]

@@Zoologhffc77 By shirtless I presume you mean the small tear in your ski mask that you didn't notice.

[@JosieStev]

they were in WA 20+ yrs ago when i was there

[@tallmarn8927]

You guys are so good at telling terrible jokes, no mattter how terrible the joke is, you guys still make me laugh at it. Bless you.

[@JuneBuggJr]

Remember those modified mosquitoes they released not that long ago? No? That is what they hope would happen

[@monsoon_magic2874]

I want to ask if these harmful, disease-carrying mosquitoes are wiped out from our planet will it affect our ecosystems in any way?

[@skippy9214]

Yes, unfortunately male mosquitoes are very common pollinators. Also turns out it’s *really* hard to eradicate mosquitoes from an area

[@alexwalker5716]

unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that in places where mosquitos live, most other small animals eat the mosquitos. if we got rid of the mosquitos (as much as I dislike them) the populations of frogs and other likeable animals would nose dive from lack of food. though maybe we could replace the human-targeting disease-spreading thousands-killing mosquitos with ones that don't do those things?

[@InfernosReaper]

@@skippy9214 Then why do they feed on us? Seems like they should just sick to nectar

[@JbombTheGreat]

I would imagine that trying to eliminate all mosquitoes would be just as difficult as trying to drain the oceans of all their water. Although.... draining all the oceans would probably lead to mosquitos going extinct eventually.....hmmmm..... there's an idea.

[@jasonpost913]

From what I've read, if you can selectively kill only human-disease-vector mosquitoes, the ecosystem would probably be fine. All mosquitoes would be a problem for a lot of insect eating species, but aedes egypti is a small enough proportion of all mosquitoes that it probably would be okay.

[@jacobbosley1946]

I have seen insects, including some mosquitoes, try to escape my eyesight by flying in a way that makes it harder to see them. Quickly changing direction or flying up and down rapidly until it's a frequency that's outside the human eye spectrum. Once while trying to sleep I hear the sound of a mosquito flying around near me. When I turned on a light in the direction I heard it l, the light hit the bug, and the moment I looked directly at it, it closed its wings and dove, landing out of sight behind a roll in my bed. In the brief moment it took me to get ready it walked on its legs to freeze at the peak of the roll to my hand squashing it. Not only capable of seeing our breathing and having thermal vision, there's also an electromagnetic frequency sense that allows some insects a near perfect sense of what larger things with eyes like ours are looking at. Especially them. Many people can attest to sometimes having a sense of being watched. The dragon fly is a great teacher.

[@Demopans5990]

Likely some new behavior of evasive action when in light

[@kiwik2951]

I have some pretty bad eye floaters, and a deep hate of mosquitoes. So I see them (or think I do) in my peripheral vision a lot.

[@BooBaddyBig]

"What drove them, right into our arms?" lol

[@TrollDragomir]

In all honesty, while I don't know any research to back it up, but as someone spending a lot of time in the wilds I encounter mosquitoes on a very regular basis. Here in central Europe we also have specialist and generalist mosquitoe populations. The ones near urban areas are much smaller, hard to detect, quieter, and most importantly humans don't feel their bite at all, but it itches like hell for weeks. On the contrary, in rural areas - especially where there are cows or horses - there are those huge mosquitoes that move slowly, their bite hurts (so it's easy to slap them before they start sucking), and they're very loud, obviously suited more to feed on those big farm animals.

[@frankibianchi6188]

yes i met a few squitoes in my time too

[@GalactusOG]

Put a small glass bowl of Water with honey and poison mushrooms on top of a flat Blue LED light coaster in each room and it kills all the flying bugs in the house. I just replace the water every couple of days. I use clover honey for it because clover honey is cheap.

[@frtzkng]

*Earth:* tilts *Mosquito:* So you have chosen death

[@isaaclim8645]

Mosquito: "I'm a generalist, not a specialist.. I'm a generalist". If you get the reference, you deserve a gold star

[@baishalideb5565]

did u talk about physician and their fees?

[@binkwillans5138]

Generalists are stronger than specialists.

[@rosabscura]

🥹 thankyou for this gift. For anyone wondering: worst xfactor audition s… it was it American idol..??

[@isaaclim8645]

@@rosabscura yes omg!!! Took almost 10 days and finally someone got it. I was losing hope 😭

[@ephjay6t87]

I spent 1/2 my day raiding people's yards seeking out their habitats and treating with larvicide. Aedes aegypi is the nastiest mosquito I've met.

[@radiokitty9007]

If you live in a place that’s arid and is home to the kinds of mosquitoes that track a lot of diseases, then you should worry about it, but if not, leave them be bc they’re important to the ecosystem. In North America and in many parts of Europe, they aren’t really a problem. So avoid killing them in those places. Edit you seem to know what you’re talking about so I’ll leave you be.

[@ephjay6t87]

@@radiokitty9007 aegypi has invaded my town in 2019. We are at their northern most range but have adapted quite well. They are quite a nuisance if surveillance and treatments are ignored. They are well adapted to domestic living. We have 19 other species that are troublesome enough. Thank you.

[@radiokitty9007]

@@ephjay6t87 I see I see

[@anotherdrummer2]

Humans, soon after storing water in earthen vessels: "General aedes, we've been expecting you."

[@SherryDC]

Mosquitoes are the only species I can kill without having any remorse or feeling like I am playing god.

[@binkwillans5138]

What about small children?

[@ChristopherTiihonen]

I love seeing a full Eons video instead of just a short!

[@radinmasoumzadeh8527]

I've always been thinking about how hunter gather societies survived with such vicious mosquitos but I guess they weren't always such a problem

[@marcociolli785]

This Video is fantastic and very informative, well documented (as usual by PBS Eons) and presented in an impeccable manner.

[@paul6925]

Interesting! I wonder if this is related to why there are no screens on a lot of the windows on Vancouver Island, Canada. I consider this part of Canada paradise because it was the only place I've lived where I did not get eaten alive by mosquitos and blackflies while out on the lakes and hiking in the forests. The breed of mosquito there is different. And I hope it stays that way.

[@craigb8228]

Really don't want a door that opens outward in an area that gets that much snow.

[@paul6925]

@@craigb8228 What has this got to do with what I was talking about? Victoria doesn't get very much snow at all. It's the mildest climate in Canada and rarely goes below freezing

[@bobbywesker6114]

Howdy from the greater Victoria region, neighbour! I don’t know about you, but I’ve found mosquitoes to be a problem here on the island, and most of the people I know have screens in their windows, if not their doors. Personally, I think we should wipe mosquitoes out entirely, and let nature figure out the aftermath.

[@paul6925]

@@bobbywesker6114 That’s odd. What part of Victoria? I lived there in the 90s so they must have spread since. But if you google “Victoria lack of screens on windows” there’s still plenty of people mentioning it. Or search for “Monique Keiran: Victoria’s mosquitoes are oh so laid-back” If you’ve never lived elsewhere you won’t know how bad mosquitos can get. But further north on the island there may be more swamps to breed them.

[@frtzkng]

In Canada, the general hatred for Homo sapiens was given to geese instead

[@Shadismic]

Hi there, great job you’re doing to enlighten our species. And I thank you for that as a beneficiary. Inf.:Sahara means desert in the regional Arabic language. So in essence when you say “Sahara desert”, you are saying “desert desert”. I’m hoping that this piece of info will change your life a bit in return to the changes that you have brought to me.

[@JaniceLHz]

Thank you for that nugget! I'll add that to Mount Fujiyama, Rio Grande River, ATM machine, ... (Edit: these are bad examples of needlessly repetitive usage, not examples of correct usage)

[@JesusFlores-ju3mh]

English does this a lot. I doubt it will go away. Some other examples are the Rio grande River (River big River) The Los Angeles Angels (The The Angels Angel). So I wouldn’t expect things to change.

[@patreekotime4578]

​@@JesusFlores-ju3mhI somehow doubt this is unique to English. Loan words get adopted in strange ways in many languages.

[@dforrest4503]

Mmm - I love dessert!

[@fbskxnwkdnworkir]

​@@JesusFlores-ju3mhthat's why English is great

[@ushalexa]

A brilliantly written and presented episode!

[@TheSoulCrisis]

I love the work you guys do! Amazing content presented and really dig how you guys have fun with yourselves and the viewers at the end lol!

[@fishybusinessco.8398]

This is why I advise putting guppies ponds everywhere

[@potsmokindino]

How poetic, we created one of our greatest nemeses.

[@binkwillans5138]

Until AI.

[@tylerk3130]

Why is no one remarking on that beautiful "straight into our arms" pun. Pure gold.

[@HappyGrower]

Amazing episode. Good work PBS Eons team!

[@scraperindustry]

Climate change is leading us towards a dystopian hellscape of food shortages, extreme weather, and now, plagues of hyperspecialized mosquitoes.

[@binkwillans5138]

Actually, skeets seem pretty bad this year.

[@HAROLD-CORE]

One of the most dangerous? Literally, the most dangerous.

[@Elrog3]

people are more dangerous

[@Ofallthings089]

@@Elrog3Mosquitoes have killed more people than anything else. Including people.

[@HAROLD-CORE]

@Elrog3 Fine, I get that, but that's not within the context of our discussion as far as I know.

[@vinny184]

Please do a video on the Rhynie chert, or other well preserved ecosystems in general. You can observe interactions between species and kingdoms in these types of Lagerstätte.

[@letsgobirding9246]

An amazing book to check out if you want to learn more is “the mosquito, a human history of our deadliest predator” that talks about how “general anopheles and aedes” shaped the outcome of every major war and colonization attempt of our 5000 year history of civilization. Really fascinating book!

[@CreatorDrews]

Going to check it now, thanks !

[@amarynthia]

Sounds similar to Guns, Germs, and Steel, definitely will have to give it a read.

[@kevinmathewson4272]

Mosquitos drive me nuts but they're kinda funny on a level. They're one of the few major examples of nature stealing resources back from humans, in this case our blood.

[@LimeyLassen]

It's sort of like a wealth tax, if you think about it. 😂

[@ekosubandie2094]

Talk about paying for their child support

[@nckojita]

honestly if it werent for the whole disease carrying thing i wouldnt even care if they took my blood, like its just a little bit. but nooo they have to be deadly 🙄

[@Lilliathi]

@@LimeyLassen Oh, so when it's our turn to pay child support for the poor creatures, we suddenly want a genocide.

[@InfernosReaper]

@@LimeyLassen As long as you ignore all the poor people who get ravaged by then...

[@marchlopez9934]

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, known for carrying diseases like yellow fever, zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya, evolved over time to become attracted to humans, primarily due to changes in the planet's orbital cycles and the transformation of the Sahara Desert around 6,000 years ago. This caused the species to specialize in feeding on humans, making them one of the most dangerous animals in the world. However, forest-dwelling populations of the mosquito still exist in parts of Africa where they live as generalists, feeding on a range of animals they share the environment with. Recent studies have shown that the human specialist populations that were most attracted to people lived in urban communities of the West African Sahel region, which is a dry place where natural pools of water are scarce for around nine months of the year. By sequencing the DNA of generalist and specialist mosquitoes, researchers were able to trace the history of the mosquito's switch to humans and estimate that the original split between generalists and specialist populations occurred around 5,000 years ago, which coincided with the end of the African humid period, a time of environmental upheaval for the region. Overall, the evolution of the Aedes aegypti mosquito highlights the impact that changes in the environment can have on the evolution of species and the potential consequences for human health.

[@electrictroy2010]

Human urbanization is NOT as impactful as the planet changing its tilt & turning savannahs to deserts. Not even close. We are mere atoms compared to the ever-changing solar system. We are nothing compared to the massive scale of the universe: 100000000000000000000 suns stretching 900000000000000000000000 miles edge to edge .

[@flowersandeverythingelse2369]

I loved learning this, thank you! Also liked the joke, and the bloopers 😄

[@MrHermit12]

Just glad we can't get heart worms.

[@nolanwhite1971]

Yet

[@dragongamerboi13]

No, but you can get brain worms from pork.

[@SIC647]

Now I wonder to which extend a higher survival rate of humans that migrated to colder regions with no disease-bearing mosquitos, influenced the spread of humanity to all over the world. The deadliest animal for humans, and maybe also indirectly guiding humanity's spread. 🤔

[@MaddoxLightning]

Nia'wen/Thank you Eons team; and by the way, I would love another horse episode, haha. Or one on deer- it seems some variety of antlered being lives on most portions of the land... I'd love to know more about how the differences in elk, deer, moose, Cariboo, and so on came to be; how they got to where they are; and or the evolution of headgear...

[@jurgenguerrero8609]

I am sure if they include mosquitoes from Egypt and Sudan they will discover more interactions with humans, than the Nile was the refuge for humans and fauna that lived in the sahara as it got dry. A very interesting study.

[@stevecannon1774]

Thanks. I had Dengue when we lived on Puerto Rico. Thank goodness it was a very weak strain and I was only sick for about 2 months.

[@jul1440]

Remember, mosquitos are teeny-tiny. That's not a "BIG ol' mosquito" but probably just a harmless midge.

[@thetommantom]

I noticed proper clean fresh roads and drainage got rid of most mosquitos but now recently I have seen like literally 2 of them and they were huge gnarly hairy things

[@elierreyes9287]

Hairy mosquitoes are usually male, well I am thinking onn their antennas mostly. The ones without muc hair are the wild ones.

[@jr2904]

The worst part is noticing one on your arm and you smack it, and your own blood splatters when you kill it

[@NathanHarrison7]

I’ve wondered, nearly my entire life why mosquitoes exist to torment us. Thanks for this wonderful program. Subscribed I now know it’s not their fault. It’s ours; like pretty much every other problem in this world.

[@harvvee7267]

I sat on a seashell and got a seashell shape in my butt. I didnt blame the seashell though I blamed the ocean

[@Idate._intrepidus7]

Agree

[@aaronj08ar]

You can have all the self-hatred you want, but don't lump everyone else in with you mmmkay.

[@lizzyboissoneau]

I live in Ontario Canada and they are so different this year bigger and if you get bit they’re more prominent really itchy bites

[@neomt2]

Can you do a video on Anopheles mosquitoes (one's that carry malaria) pls?😊

[@OMGitshimitis]

This is such a cool video and very well presented.

[@yaxa0601]

You’re amazing! Thanks for your hard work and education!

[@chasecharland1160]

We are the architects of our own destruction.

[@lerneanlion]

So if Sahara remained green, we will not be targeted by this certain species of mosquitoes?! That's great! And on the other news, that means the Phoenicians based in Carthage can explain further down south by the rivers that are still around and escape from the Romans if the inevitable happened and found a new city to retake Carthage from the Romans.

[@seanthe100]

Civilization probably would've never Grown to the size that it has today.

[@johnnyonthespot4375]

Odd questions: If I am in my car and I go somewhere that mosquitos are everywhere and I open the car and 20 of them get into my vehicle before I shut the door. I end up getting bit by every one over the coarse of the 40 miles that I need to drive. Does its babies survive without my blood ? is she too far away to get back to them ? Does she just abandon those kids and make new ones where she is ?

[@hans-jurgenvogel6789]

Yes and yes. And the last question I don't understand. Actually, I don't understand any of them. The mosquitoes in the car will use your blood to make babies. There won't be any babies until the mosquitoes get out of the car and find some water to lay their eggs in.

[@latheofheaven1017]

johnnyonthespot - Mosquitos don't look after their young. They lay eggs in the water and fly off again.

[@jasonreed7522]

There seems to be a misconception about the mosquito lifecycle here. Female mosquitoes drink blood specifically for a couple protiens and the iron so they can reproduce. They then lay their eggs and abandon the young to their fate. The larvae don't need blood and instead eat detritus, bacteria, and even the eggs/larva of other mosquito species. When they finally become adults they drink plant sap from leaves for food. A mosquito getting trapped in your car and released 40miles away is technically just the spreading of invasive species, but i don't think 40miles is far enough for that to really count unless its a brand new invasive. (But even then, its just 40miles, they were going to fly/spread that far within the year anyway)

[@johnnyonthespot4375]

@@jasonreed7522 -- Darn it! I actually thought I was personally coming up with a way to bite those wee buggers back (😁) - Thank you very much for the info !!

[@cc1drt]

how can you think mosquitos can “abandon their young” like theyre a bird or some ish LOLLLLL

[@rutufn0596]

We only help for making problems usually. And we talk about "problems" mostly when we are affected. I can't see when or what we have done something without creating problems.

[@nsl-u-boot8464]

thank you so much for enlithtening us!

[@AshtonCoolman]

I hate mosquitoes so very, very much...

[@Predation_records]

So do i

[@Idate._intrepidus7]

I only hate mosquitoes that spread disease but even than I really don’t blame them for carrying the disease however parasite worm they can die off

[@darianharrell4783]

I love eons! Can yall do a episode about tardigardes(waterbears) ?

[@DanielSolis]

Always stick around for the joke and the bloopers. :D

[@kittimcconnell2633]

I set up a water bucket between my front door and where my car is parked. Every three or four days I dump it - and all the mosquito larvae - onto the gravel. Helping to decimate the local mosquito population!

[@Raelven]

Add bleach to the water, that will kill larvae in between dumping the water. About 1/4 cup per gallon.

[@eduardodemelomatos9215]

Yay Nice subject ❤ im from northeast Brasil my City is a terraformed swamp and The aegis egipt is a thing since i remenber tyyy All The Love for pbs eon and pbs space time

[@incanusolorin2607]

Só de ver o vídeo já me deu vontade de conferir se tem água parada em alguma planta da casa

[@ikebeckman1074]

Confusingly, that heat map of their population is cool as a cucumber in Egypt

[@armandoplaysandmaps]

Please make more videos I really like this channel

[@leongliyang6946]

Great info, thanks 😊

[@albatross4920]

... (sigh) of course we did 🙄😒😑🦟

[@jasonalarid930]

Love this show and its hosts! Looking forward to new "Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time" podcast episodes as well!

[@kismet8010]

I appreciate the outtakes at the end of each episode 😊

[@davidwood2387]

Mosquitoes in central Massachusetts seems too be fewer. I been out after dark no problem . Been at the park too 8pm no one got bit .

[@amberskhoo5928]

I hate mosquitoes, they suck

[@sofarsogood8680]

Is there any efforts to counter the aedes mosquitoes biologically ? Cause we always knew that chemical ,pesticides or fogging are not helpful in the long run

[@ghiggs8389]

Look up IPM or Integrated Pest Management. I'm witnessing firsthand the effectiveness, but we are in a drought which definitely cuts them down too.

[@binkwillans5138]

Mosquitoes are part of the landscape. What this video says is that we caused them to adapt to human blood.

[@missa2037]

I’m in Australia and currently mosquitos are so bad! I can’t even go outside into my backyard without being swamped by a heap of them. Even at the local parks I can’t take my kids! 🫠

[@OrondeBranch]

Amazing video as usual 🤌🏿

[@davidschaftenaar6530]

I knew it: It's all the fault of those darn Milankovitch cycles! 😡🔁🌍

[@erichtomanek4739]

Milankovich Cycles. I'm not sure of the spelling, but why didn't you say this when speaking of Earth's changing climate due to these cycles?

[@im_skipachu]

"It keeps going, ya'll." 🤣

[@gex6095]

Great video thanks for sharing

[@sebo641]

Is there a way to vaccinate mosquitoes? Because I've only heard of exterminating them but I'm sure the fear is that it affects the rest of the ecosystem negatively if they disappear

[@paulkinzer7661]

Wow! I had no idea how recent the moist period ended. And it makes me feel weird saying this, but I find that mosquito very lovely, at least to look at. Luckily, whenever I hear the whine of a mosquito's wings, I swat first and, well, never bother looking afterwards, other than to congratulate myself if I find it squashed. I value all living things, but that doesn't mean I let them kill me!

[@binkwillans5138]

Let the little critters feed on your flesh. You never know what THEY might catch from you!

[@chrisc5991]

Mosquitos have always been singing in our ears since the dawn of time😂

[@ethanroberson3141]

Love you guys

[@ChuanChihChou]

Mutation accumulation between the populations since the last migration〜♪ 9:24

[@JR-gp2zk]

I never knew some mosquitoes are human specialists. Cool story.

[@sciencenerd7639]

great video, thanks

[@Expired_Snack]

They actually made me cry out of frustration recently because I got bit up so much 😭😭😭

[@MossyMozart]

@Expired_Snack - I feel your torment.

[@ATTACKonART]

something about the spread of mosquito's via the slave trade seems like a biblical punishment... world lore

[@Toomuchbullshitt]

It would’ve happened anyways. The Europeans who made it to America under Christopher Columbus introduced rats, cockroaches, and other pests (and diseases) by accident that were not originally native here in America. A lot of the natives died out from the diseases and they looked to Africa as a replacement for their manual labor.

[@user-mk8cx5ov6c]

World lore…. Bro they just happened to accidentally introduce them don’t read into it too hard 😂

[@useodyseeorbitchute9450]

Yeah, that were the most expensive cheap cotton t-shirts ever...

[@forestwitch108]

Sooo, if we would kill all the mosquitoes feeding only on people we would still have general feeding mosquitoes. Would that mean that a lack of them would not be that negative to envirement? if they evolved and stay only around human aglomerations them being a food source is limited for other animals so lack of them shouldn't be a big deal.

[@ragnkja]

If it’s possible to get rid of just the specialists without hurting the generalists, it should be done.

[@eric2500]

General feeding mosquitos might still feed on us, if we are the only choice in the area!

[@badrinair]

Thank you

[@davidkuhn8946]

The episode I have been asking for at last