Believe it or not, some species of mosquitoes actually evolved to suck human blood and survive off of us!
If it weren’t for the growth of humans and our urban paradises, mosquitoes may not have had the ability to grow and expand as much as they have with us.
Mosquitoes are getting faster, smarter, and better at biting us humans with every decade that passes by.
In today’s post, we’re going to go over the shocking reasons that allow mosquitoes to rapidly evolve for human blood and how they’re getting better and better.
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Aedes Aegypti - Mosquitoes That Specialize in Humans
Mosquitoes that evolved for human blood can be traced back to regions in the world that had long, intense dry periods.
In order to survive, mosquitoes require standing bodies of water to rear their young. Fortunately for them, humans create these standing bodies of water in storage or irrigation for our own survival.
It is believed that ancient mosquitoes were drawn to these standing bodies of water, and then evolved over time to get better and faster and eat human blood over thousands of years.
What’s even more shocking is just how quickly this evolution can take place!
The London Underground Mosquito Species
One mosquito species actually evolved within the London Underground Metro Transit System, and they have evolved so much that now they do not breed with other mosquito species!
Your typical mosquito species in a climate like London will hibernate in the Winter because mosquitoes do not have the ability to thrive in extreme cold and a snowy season.
However, the London Underground Mosquito does not need to hibernate in the Winter because the underground systems are kept warm.
These mosquitoes prefer staying underground, and will not breed with mosquitoes from above ground.
London Underground Mosquitoes are so genetically different that it is impossible for them to breed with above-ground mosquitoes, and they also have other unique features.
Whether this is a species brought into the underground from another place or they evolved in the course of a few hundred years is not certain, however there is significant evidence that insects can evolve quick enough to create entirely new species within just a few hundred years!
Rapid Evolution & Natural Selection
The thing that makes modern-day insects and mosquitoes so dangerous is just how quickly they can evolve. While not the biggest problem in the world now, they could easily evolve to become an even bigger nuisance than they are.
Over time creatures evolve based on natural selection. Stronger creatures are more likely to reproduce, whereas weaker creatures are more likely to die off before reproducing.
In humans and animals this process is extremely long. For example, a new human generation is made every 20 years or so.
Many insects can reproduce rapidly, within just a week or two! In the case of mosquitoes, an entirely new generation can be created within just a couple of weeks (plus or minus a week depending on other factors).
Here’s a rough example of just how fast mosquitoes can evolve in comparison to humans:
Let’s say that every time there is a new generation the species becomes 1% more evolved and stronger.
In the example of humans, let’s say there’s a new generation every 20 years. So in 100 years from now, humans would be 5% more evolved and stronger.
Compare that to mosquitoes, which can create a new generation every 2 weeks. In the same time period of 100 years, mosquitoes would be able to be 2,600% more evolved.
In the same period of 100 years, mosquitoes have 520x more generations than humans, or 2,600 new generations!
What This Means For Us
This means that every year mosquitoes are getting stronger, and at a frightening pace.
Every time you kill a slow mosquito that is trying to take some of your blood, you are eliminating its DNA from the reproduction pool. The mosquitoes that are fast enough to escape your swipe go on to reproduce, making future mosquitoes faster, smarter, and stronger!
This also means that entirely new species of mosquitoes can easily be created within a hundred or two hundred years. The mosquitoes of your great-grand-children could be entirely different from the mosquitoes of today!
Furthermore, this explains why mosquitoes are such a nuisance. They have literally evolved besides humans for thousands of years, getting better and better at sucking our blood over each decade.
Pest Infestation
To make matters even worse, our urban & city jungles have created the perfect home for mosquitoes to grow and expand in.
They are evolving for underground systems, to live inside of buildings, and use our urban structures for their survival and growth.
This can cause massive damages to property, as well as to human health, as mosquitoes and other pests spread all kinds of deadly diseases!
If you think that you have a wildlife or pest infestation, contact us immediately at 855-WILDLIFE or visit www.wildlifexteam.com for more information.
We specialize in safe & responsible removal of wildlife and pests. In the case of mammals, we return the creatures to the wild whenever possible, though we’d be happy to get rid of mosquitoes completely for you.
Again, call us and let the experts handle it before it grows into a greater problem!
Thanks & have a great day,
-Wildlife x Team International