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I understand that dragonflies eat the mosquito larvae. I remember that
Purple Martins were formerly thought to be good for mosquito control.
Subsequent studies of their eating habits indicated they ate a large
number of dragonflies, which would certainly not be good for keeping
mosquito numbers down.
Don
Don MacNeill donmacneill@bellaliant.net
On 08/07/2013 7:02 PM, Dave&Jane Schlosberg wrote:
> What DOES eat mosquitoes?
> *From:* James W. Wolford <mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
> *Sent:* Monday, July 08, 2013 1:06 PM
> *To:* NatureNS <mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> ; Fred Scott
> <mailto:fwscott@eastlink.ca>
> *Subject:* [NatureNS] re bats vs. mosquitoes?
> THANKS, FRED! from Jim et al.
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> *From: *fred scott <fwscott@eastlink.ca <mailto:fwscott@eastlink.ca>>
>> *Date: *July 8, 2013 11:59:47 AM ADT
>> *To: *Hugh Broders <Hugh.Broders@SMU.CA
>> <mailto:Hugh.Broders@SMU.CA>>, "James W. Wolford"
>> <jimwolford@eastlink.ca <mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca>>, Nature BNS
>> <nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca <mailto:nature@blomidonnaturalists.ca>>
>> *Cc: *Mark F Elderkin <elderkmf@gov.ns.ca
>> <mailto:elderkmf@gov.ns.ca>>, Andrew Hebda <HEBDAAJ@gov.ns.ca
>> <mailto:HEBDAAJ@gov.ns.ca>>, Donald McAlpine
>> <Donald.McAlpine@nbm-mnb.ca <mailto:Donald.McAlpine@nbm-mnb.ca>>
>> *Subject: **RE: re bats endangered -- good for other insectivores??*
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Hugh is quite right. The idea that insectivorous bats in North
>> America feed on mosquitoes is a myth derived from a gross
>> misunderstanding of a single old paper that provided the numbers of
>> mosquitoes eaten in one night by a captive big brown bat (Eptesicus
>> fuscus). It would normally prey on much larger insects, but made do
>> with mosquitoes because that was all it was offered. Also, it is a
>> much larger animal than the little brown, long-eared and tricolored
>> bats in NS.
>>
>> In fact the vast majority of the feeding time of insectivorous bats
>> is spent well above the zones where mosquitoes are found. Even when
>> bats forage within a meter or two of the forest canopy, there are no
>> mosquitoes there because there are no sleeping warm-blooded animals
>> in the air—they are all down in the foliage. The bats will take a
>> mosquito if they come across one, but to seek them out they would
>> have to dodge and flutter through cluttered environments under trees
>> and shrubs, or within a foot or two of the grass on fields or
>> meadows, and it wouldn't be an energetically efficient way to forage,
>> especially for such a small protein package.
>>
>> It is also wrongly believed by many that swallows and swifts eats
>> large amounts of mosquitoes, but they normally feed high in the open
>> air, well away from any zone where mosquitoes would be hanging out.
>> Mosquitoes normally rest on vegetation until some disturbance or
>> signal that could mean a blood meal stimulates them to take wing and
>> seek it out.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Fred
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix"><font face="Calibri">I understand that
dragonflies eat the mosquito larvae. I remember that </font>Purple
Martins were formerly thought to be good for mosquito control.
Subsequent studies of their eating habits indicated they ate a
large number of dragonflies, which would certainly not be good for
keeping mosquito numbers down.<br>
<br>
Don<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">Don MacNeill
donmacneill@bellaliant.net</div>
On 08/07/2013 7:02 PM, Dave&Jane Schlosberg wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:A5D4D48232F6427990FAD6FE681C37CE@DavidPC"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR:
#000000">
<div>What DOES eat mosquitoes?</div>
<div style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri';
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal;
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<div> </div>
<div style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<div style="font-color: black"><b>From:</b> <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
title="jimwolford@eastlink.ca"
href="mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca">James W.
Wolford</a> </div>
<div><b>Sent:</b> Monday, July 08, 2013 1:06 PM</div>
<div><b>To:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="naturens@chebucto.ns.ca"
href="mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">NatureNS</a> ;
<a moz-do-not-send="true" title="fwscott@eastlink.ca"
href="mailto:fwscott@eastlink.ca">Fred Scott</a> </div>
<div><b>Subject:</b> [NatureNS] re bats vs. mosquitoes?</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri';
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal;
TEXT-DECORATION: none; DISPLAY: inline">THANKS, FRED! from
Jim et al.<br>
<div>
<div> </div>
<div>Begin forwarded message:</div>
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