1: Mosquito ecology and its uses in control

Mosquitoes are reviled due to their blood-feeding behavior. However, the primary food of adult mosquitoes is floral nectar. Using field collections we determined that Culex pipiens, the northern house mosquito, is a floral visitor of tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, and yarrow, Achillea millefolium. We then exposed mosquitoes to tansy and yarrow in the lab and determined whether or not pollen accumulated on mosquitoes during floral visits. Lastly, we performed pollination experiments to assess the ability of mosquitoes to induce seed-set in tansy. Our findings pose questions about how mosquitoes interact with flowers and whether or not the role of mosquitoes in the environment should be considered in mosquito control efforts. They also demonstrate an aspect of mosquito ecology that could be exploited for control.