Elephant Mosquitoes Deployed in Louisiana, Don’t Kill Them

(KTDY) - As summer comes to an end, the mosquitoes are out, and they may not be going anywhere anytime soon. With that in mind, Louisiana has deployed the elephant mosquito to combat other mosquitoes.

Yes, you read that correctly: a certain species of mosquito is being used in the Bayou State to combat the mosquito population, and it's pretty interesting.

WWLTV reports that the St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement is introducing residents to the elephant mosquito, a large mosquito species whose young eat other mosquito larvae.

The elephant mosquito's young eat the larvae of the biting mosquitoes, thus helping control the overall mosquito population in our state. So no, you don't want to kill the elephant mosquitoes you may see in your yard or on your patio.

Now, you may be asking: Do adult elephant mosquitoes bite? No, adult females don't bite, so if you're an outdoor person, they can be your best friend.

Description of Elephant Mosquito

The elephant mosquito is much larger than other mosquito pests.  It has a vibrant, metallic, iridescent appearance, with shiny shades of blue, purple, green, gold, and yellow scales along its body and legs.

Males feature larger, bushy (plumose) antennae, while females have fewer short hairs.

Because elephant mosquitoes don't bite and their young can help control the overall mosquito population, scientists now grow them in labs to help with mosquito abatement.

How Elephant Mosquitoes Survive

If you're asking how elephant mosquitoes survive without biting and sucking blood from humans, the females get the protein they need to produce eggs by eating other mosquito larvae during their development.

As adults, they feed on flower nectar, plant sap, and fruit rather than blood. That means they don't need to bite people to lay eggs, which is why you want elephant mosquitoes in your yard or around your house.

We're sharing this because elephant mosquitoes can now be anywhere in Louisiana, and if you see these large, colorful insects, leave them be; they're no harm to you or me, and they're doing good work.

For a better understanding of the elephant mosquitoes, check out this great tutorial video.