[NatureNS] Who are mosquito predators?

Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 07:03:39 -0400
From: Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca>
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Quoting Don MacNeill <donmacneill@bellaliant.net>:

>   I remember that Purple Martins were formerly thought to be good  
> for mosquito control. Subsequent studies of their eating habits  
> indicated they ate a large number of dragonflies, which would  
> certainly not be good for keeping mosquito numbers down.

* it's hard to imagine how any predator could specialize in adult  
Mosquitoes, with their strategy of clinging to vegetation until a  
potential host comes by, and they spend such a short time as adults  
that no parasitoid could benefit from them. The infrequency with which  
one sees Dragonflies of Bats exploiting the cloud of Mosquitoes one  
attracts oneself emphasises the effectiveness of their cling-and-wait  
strategy.

fred.
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          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
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   on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
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