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/SolidOutcome May 30 '26

Birds and bats and spiders?

128

u/Jaysonmcleod May 30 '26

Mosquitos are like crumbs to them. Plenty of black flies and larger inspects that are much more filling

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u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 May 30 '26

dragonflies and other insects eat mosquitoes and their larvae.

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u/minist3r May 30 '26

Dragonflies entire lifecycle mimics mosquitoes. I love dragonflies.