You Would Not Believe Where Mosquito Larvae Have Been Found Developing And Surviving

An entomologist from North Carolina, Michael Reiskind, Ph.D, took his car to a gas station in order to clean his windshield with the chemical rich water found inside of basins located near gas pumps. This mundane task led to a discovery that has already been published academic articles. Dr. Reiskind initially found a mosquito located on the inner wall of the basin. After dismissing this observation as a bit strange, the Dr. was then amazed to find mosquito larvae within the same basin containing water and cleaning chemicals. In fact, the larvae was resting on the surface of the seemingly fatal chemical solution. After looking on with astonishment he eventually observed an Aedes albopictus mosquito emerging from it pupa while in the noxious water.

Immediately after the Dr.’s unlikely observation he, and a colleague, set out to determine how commonly windshield washing basins are infested with mosquitoes and their larvae. After surveying several basins at thirty different gas stations, the two entomology professionals found mosquitoes, their larvae, and mosquitoes emerging from pupa, in an astonishing thirty percent of all gas station basins surveyed.

Among the basins observed, two different types of mosquitoes were discovered, the Culex quinquefasciatus and the Aedes albopictus. According to the resulting published study, the gas station basins are an obviously unlikely location for mosquito breeding, given the chemicals present in the water. Also, the fact that mosquitoes can breed in such unlikely locations proves that mosquitoes are well adapted to objects and chemicals developed by mankind. This breeding location shows how well mosquitoes have evolved to survive in a world dominated by human beings, and this is not necessarily a good thing. Both of these mosquitoes have been shown to survive within areas containing noxious chemicals. In any case, it is unlikely that mosquitoes require an abundance of organic matter in order to survive, as well as develop properly.

Have you ever found an insect that was clearly alive while exposed to inorganic matter? If so, what type of insect and inorganic matter was involved?