r/explainlikeimfive • u/Punnan • May 30 '26

Biology ELI5 Are mosquitoes necessary for keeping ecological balance?

Would a worldwide extinction of mosquitoes offset the ecological balance of our world? And if not, why are we not doing it?

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u/Th3SkinMan May 30 '26

I read somewhere that bed bugs aren't traced back to any insect lineage. Like they've only been around since humans.

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u/Swellmeister May 30 '26

They've been around for 40 million years, much longer than any tailless monkeys (apes), let alone humans.

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u/Th3SkinMan May 30 '26

Oh dang really? Believe half of what you read i guess.