From Around the World
from the USGS website:
Biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey are racing the clock to pull four species of native Hawaiian Honeycreeper forest birds back from the brink of extinction.
Factors such as habitat loss, invasive species, and non-native predators have been fueling the birds’ decline for centuries. However, introduced diseases, particularly avian malaria spread through mosquitoes, which are not native to the Hawaiian Islands, coupled with climate change, are the greatest threat facing Hawaiian forest birds today.
“As the climate warms and more mosquitoes move into the once malaria-free regions of the mountains, healthy birds are running out of places to escape the cycle of infection,” said Eben Paxton, a research ecologist with the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC) in Hawai‘i.
From the Santa Clara County website:
September 30, 2024
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. — The County of Santa Clara Vector Control District has discovered non-native Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in a residential area of the city of Santa Clara. The district will soon begin treatment to eradicate the aggressive species of mosquito, which is known to spread diseases such as dengue and yellow fever.
The discovery in Santa Clara comes as the district continues its effort to eliminate the day-biting insect from neighborhoods in East San José and Gilroy. The goal is to thwart the invasive insect from establishing a permanent population.
More Mosquito News from Around the World: