There are those who argue that mosquitoes serve a design , that their drone , profligate - gorging front represent an importantlinkin a fragile nutrient strand . Then there ’s Agenor Mafra - Neto , who mostly just want them to die . The chemical ecologist and his colleaguespresentedtheir newfangled scheme for mosquito control at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society .
Irritating though they are , mosquitoesare much more than just blighter ; they ’re also vector of deadlydiseasesthat claim one thousand thousand of life history every year . While some scientist race to develop and dispense vaccinum against these viruses , others are tackle the trouble from the other oddment , hoping to block thebloodsuckersbefore they ever thrust a person ’s skin .
Today ’s most common chemical substance mosquito - protection measure are effective , but nonspecific . The same insecticide that take out a mosquito can kill a bee or poison a dog or a baby . Pesticide overflow can foul the H2O provision . It also ca n’t obviate all the mosquitoes , and the survivor reproduce , thereby increasing their resistance to the chemicals .
In other lyric : There ’s room for improvement . So Mafra - Neto , founder of the pest direction laboratory ISCA Technologies , teamed up with researchers from other universities to create something better .
First , they collect spile of mosquitoes ' favorite ambrosia - producing industrial plant and analyzed the chemical make-up of each blossom ’s fragrance . They exposed mosquitoes to individual elements of each fragrance to bump out which ones got their aid , then eliminated any aroma that also brought bees to the grand . The final consequence was an intoxicant perfume of sugars and proteins that no mosquito could turn down .
The research worker mixed this exceptional blend with a extremely concentrated , slow - passing pesticide called Vectrax , which can be sprayed or scatter onto plants and construction . The pesticide solidifies in teeny droplet and will not diffuse to other airfoil , but it will spread in the eubstance of the mosquitoes who come to savour it .
And taste it they do .
" The blend of chemical substance that we use to attract mosquito is so muscular that they will ignore natural plant odors and attractants in purchase order to get to our expression , " Mafra - Netosaidin a affirmation . " From a mosquito ’s point of view , it ’s like having an resistless burnt umber workshop on every corner . The product is so seductive that they will tip on it almost exclusively , even when it contains lethal doses of insect powder . "
Mafra - Neto and his fellow worker are presently conducting area test in malaria - vulnerable villages of Tanzania . Their early effect propose that their intersection can cut mosquito population by two - third base in the first two week alone , and may be able to eliminate the pests entirely . Mafra - Neto would n’t be sorry to see them go .
" I truly hate mosquitoes and ticks , " he suppose . " conceive of : Maybe one 24-hour interval we will be able to go into our backyard or ballpark and not have to concern about being bothered by either of them . "
