The mosquitoes They continue without respite in much of the country, despite the significant drop in temperature. Going to a park is enough to graph a a situation about which not even the groups dedicated to studying the behavior of these insects have records.. The abundant rains that occurred around the end of summer and the beginning of autumn contributed to prolong the birth of specimens that resist low temperatures although, they clarify, they do not have much time left.
“What is happening is quite atypical. Since December we have had high abundances of this mosquito in the parks, which is the wilder flood mosquito. This has to do with a particular climatic situation because the specimens breed in temporary puddles that form after very abundant rains,» he explained to TN Sylvia Fischer, principal researcher at Conicet and director of the Mosquito Study Group of the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
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Monitoring this mosquito, technically known as Aedes albifasciatu He has been in the City of Buenos Aires for 20 years. Fischer assured that «many times high peaks of abundance» of specimens have been seen but in short periods, at the beginning of spring or autumn, or at the end of the latter season. However, They do not have records similar to the current panorama: so many mosquitoes and for so long.
The repetition of rains, explained the researcher, caused the generation of those puddles necessary for the development of insects: “We came from a three-year drought. When it started to rain, several litters began to be generated of these mosquitoes with each consecutive rain. Was a cumulative process which was possible due to the amount of heavy rains that occurred in the last six months.
Atypical year
The researcher highlighted that the largest number of mosquitoes does not occur in a normal year but is the link in a chain of atypical situations.
“Now we have a high abundance, atypical for the time. But The entire year was atypical for this region: situations of several years followed by drought, followed by a high amount of rain very often,†he explained.
Aedes albifasciatus specimen. (Photo: Raúl Campos)
Meanwhile, he added that This insect is typical of the Pampas region and that the territory meets the conditions conducive to its development: “This mosquito, historically, had a high abundance in the Pampas region, which usually has many depressions in the terrain, which dry out and flood temporarily. The region we are in, topographically, is appropriate for this to be generated.”
Behavior modification
The researcher explained that these mosquitoes have a good tolerance to low temperatures and they are distributed in areas with temperate and cold climates. “Even in Ushuaia This species was seen in very high abundance,” he exemplified.
But although the cold does not kill them, it does modifies your biological processes. Mosquitoes, in these cases, have slower reactions: “The flight ability depends on temperature. When it is cold, they become lethargic and many can be seen, but almost none of them are biting.â€
“This mosquito is a little more clumsy and with less ability to escape than the usual ones. Being more wild and its usual source of blood is animals and not humans, it does not have good adaptations in these environments to escape easily,†he explained.
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Fischer considered that mosquitoes «should not last much longer» and that «there are specimens that live a long time»: «They die after a few weeks.» We should be seeing that decrease in abundance as the days go by.
“If this is maintained temperature«Even if it rains a lot, the time it takes for them to develop will mean that we will not have another peak of abundance,» he concluded.