When it comes to mosquitoes, we jump to conclusions and pass our judgment about how mosquitoes are the foulest creatures on earth. From close to a million deaths a year to countless cases of mosquito-borne diseases, humans have suffered constantly and immeasurably at the hands of these flying barbarians. If we as humans could recreate Earth, we would literally skip the part of creating mosquitoes, and that too in the blink of an eye!
So why did God even create mosquitoes? Why did He bother to sprinkle these bloodsucking creatures all over mother Earth? And if we could, should we rectify His ‘mistake’? Scientists have been trying to answer that question and the questions which follow. In order to understand the whole picture, we must introduce ourselves to the positives which comes from having a mosquito population on Earth. Yes, you read that right, the ‘positives’ which these insects bring.
We know as much about mosquitoes as science and technology permits. From all that we know, it seems that mosquitoes have a crucial role to play in our ecosystem. Yes, they’re not here just to suck your blood and give you sleepless nights, there’s much more to their existence. Mosquitoes perform several duties on this planet, some voluntarily and some accidentally. Firstly, it may help you to know that out of more than 3000 known species of mosquitoes, only a couple of hundred affect or irritate humans. Secondly, mosquitoes are good pollinators. They reside in every continent and several plants rely on mosquitoes for their pollination process. Thirdly, they are an important food source for several other species such as migratory birds, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, etc. Lastly, even in an aquatic environment, mosquito larvae are a food source for fish.
So what if mosquitoes were completely wiped out as a specie? Would it not result in an irreversible imbalance in the ecosystem? This has proven to be a challenging conundrum for most scientists and experts. While some experts believe that mosquitoes will be missed, and the ecosystem may not be the same without them, others have put forward a contra view which states that some other specie or group of species will successfully replace mosquitoes in the ecosystem mechanism. The idea behind this contra view is that our ecosystem is robust and dynamic and can pace itself in adverse scenarios too. Hence, some other organism or group of organisms will take over the role of mosquitoes as pollinators, food sources, and detritus eaters. Simply speaking, if mosquitoes disappear from the scene, Mother Nature will summon a replacement.
Thus the question remains partially answered. God did create mosquitoes to serve a purpose. The collateral damage is being experienced by humans but that has been the case with most beings on Earth. The activities of humans too cause serious problems for other beings. So is there a Lion or ape monkey somewhere wondering why did God even create humans? Food for thought while you shield yourself from that buzzing being!
