This is how associate professor Thomas Pape, entomologist at the Statens Natural History Museum at the University of Copenhagen, characterizes the mosquito situation in Denmark right now.
Because even though he has previously said that he expected the number of mosquitoes to decrease as soon as it got cooler in the weather, he continues to receive inquiries from Danes who tell about many mosquitoes as late as September.
– I think it is very unusual with so many inquiries about many mosquitoes. I don’t usually get so many inquiries about mosquitoes, just before we change to the month of October, says Thomas Pape.
– But until very recently we had some September days with very nice temperatures for the time of year. Only a few days ago has it become cooler in the weather. It is primarily the warm weather, and the fact that we haven’t had a terrifyingly dry summer, which is a good combination for the mosquitoes. After all, there must be some water to keep the production of mosquito larvae going – on the whole, it has been good conditions for mosquitoes – nice and wet and warm, says Thomas Pape.
– How much it will affect the number of mosquitoes that the temperatures have now fallen, I cannot answer yet, says the insect researcher.
On the website myggetal.dk you can follow where the mosquito plague Denmark is and has been more than 10 years ago. The Department of Veterinary and Animal Science at the University of Copenhagen is behind the site, and the work is financed by the Danish Food and Veterinary Administration.
It appears from the site that the number of mosquito bites per 24 hours in Denmark is actually not particularly high this year overall.
However, it varies greatly from mosquito species to mosquito species. For example, the number of mosquito bites per day from bird mosquitoes – which are also called small house mosquitoes – were very high this year – especially in August and the beginning of September.
There have also been relatively many swamp mosquitoes and the same applies to malaria mosquitoes. However, that figure has dropped a lot here at the end of September.
On the other hand, according to myggetal.dk, there have actually not been particularly many ordinary house mosquitoes this year.
Common to all mosquito species is that they breed in virtually all types of water bodies.
There are more than 30 different species of biting mosquitoes in Denmark – often we just call them mosquitoes. They are found all over the country and also right inside our cities. Most species sting humans, but some species sting more than others.
And it is the female mosquito that bites and sucks blood. The blood contains a protein that the mosquito needs to be able to lay its eggs.
2024-09-28 14:42:15
#unusual #Mosquito #plague #continues #Nordjyske.dk
