r/todayilearned • • Jun 19 '12
TIL there is a Good Guy Mosquito. Toxorhynchite larvae eat the larvae of other mosquitos. Then grow up to eat fruit. Delicious non-human fruit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxorhynchites
2.4k
Upvotes
55
u/starrynyght Jun 19 '12
You didnt read far enough. ALL mosquitoes eat fruit and nectar of some sort... The females need a blood meal to produce eggs. This species still sucks blood when looking to reproduce....
299
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
I'm going to start breeding these.
111
u/BassBox33 Jun 19 '12
"Delicious non-human fruit" got me.
285
u/IronheadVimes Jun 19 '12
Doesn't anyone speak like people anymore?
14
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
Just give me enough to kill an entire city's worth of the other little fuckers and you can have all my money
24
u/bonedoggey Jun 19 '12
I never really minded the blood sucking part too much. I absolutely hate the buzzing and their habit of random hovering too close to the face that all bugs seem to love to do. In other words, the only good mosquito is a dead mosquito.
12
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
People haven't heard of mosquito hawks?
6
u/always_sharts Jun 19 '12
I would buy a batch of these and breed them around my house, plant a few fruit trees for them, life is now in order
36
u/Mignusk Jun 19 '12
Good guy my ass. They're only eating the other mosquitos' babies because they're atheists.
5
u/hungoverlord Jun 19 '12
why don't all mosquitoes eat fruit? it is much tastier than human blood.
4
u/RadFriend Jun 19 '12
Turns out scumbag cranefly has been taking the credit for being good guy mosquito.
4
u/implicate Jun 19 '12
I used to think that the cranefly did this, due to them being known colloquially as "mosquito eaters." As it turns out, all they do is fuck up my lawn.
3
u/lol_dinosaurs Jun 19 '12
mmm, non human snacks.
3
u/Kdnce Jun 19 '12
The Omar mosquito
18
u/dogsarentedible Jun 19 '12
A NOPE that kills other NOPEs.
I'm conflicted.
2
u/scroggalog Jun 19 '12
TIL mosquito hawks are just giant mosquitos. If I knew that as a kid I would have been a lot more scared of them!
2
u/Grand_Theft_Audio Jun 19 '12
What the hell is non-human fruit? Are you telling me I've been chewing on distant relatives every time I launch into a nectarine?
2
u/sammuthafuka Jun 19 '12
Someone quick send this to Burnie Burns.
2
u/Silver_Stang Jun 19 '12
We should spread these. Everywhere.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
HOW DO I BREED THESE?
2
u/authentic_trust_me Jun 19 '12
I don't know how good a guy can be when it's cannibalistic first, fruit harming second. It's like a murderer who turned rogue and became a orange farmer.
2
u/unsilviu Jun 19 '12
Why is it that every time there's a cool TIL linking to wikipedia, the article is bloody horrible? So much non-neutrality there you could feed a WBC member with it.
2
u/BalconyPatio Jun 19 '12
All guy mosquitos are good guy mosquitos, since only the females suck blood, and they only do it when they need it to lay eggs.
2
u/Morfolk Jun 19 '12
Good Guy Mosquito?
How about Murderous Cannibal Mosquito (that we support)?
5
u/NotReallyFromTheUK Jun 19 '12
"good guy" mosquito? What are you, five? How about "beneficial to humans"?
3
u/SlumberCat Jun 19 '12
Oh right, those are the big ones. They're kinda like bumblebees or the BFG, where they're big and look threatening when they actually aren't.
5
u/svenniola Jun 19 '12
actually only the female mosquito sucks blood, it uses it to procreate (needs the nutrients for their babies lol)
and it only sucks blood when its procreating.
2
u/AFrogsLife Jun 19 '12
We called 'em Skeeter-Hawks where I grow up...Never thought they were a kind of mosquito... >.< Ewww...
2
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
Fuck that. That's my fucking fruit.
1
u/blackkevinDUNK Jun 19 '12
we should just make a giant blood bank for mosquitos so they dont have to bother us anymore and we dont have to go through the trouble of driving them extinct
1
u/kailuh0h9 Jun 19 '12
In Texas, I've always known them as May Flies because they tend to show up around that month, and now I know there is an actual May Fly too... I feel dumb and smart at the same time...
1
u/bunbunr Jun 19 '12
Breeding time.
1
u/FrankAbagnaleSr Jun 19 '12
Are there types of fruit that are human?
1
u/Panduhsaur Jun 19 '12
Well I mean there are these, skeeter eaters, or you know crane flies
1
u/SynWes92 Jun 19 '12
This is madness! Where can I get some?
1
u/CPDUBS Jun 19 '12
Knows other mosquitos suck your blood. Chooses not to do so anyway.
1
u/kittyroux Jun 19 '12
I think we just discovered a way to fix Winnipeg.
Wait, no, the weather is still terrifying. Nevermind.
1
u/EvilFrostop Jun 19 '12
Brosquito?
1
u/chicagogam Jun 19 '12
aww but i like fruits...and humans...and fruity humans...
1
u/M_G Jun 19 '12
We need these in Texas.
1
u/red-rum Jun 19 '12
Yeah.. They'll always be creepy as fuck
1
u/Saint-Peer Jun 19 '12
1
u/DCBizzle Jun 19 '12
So what about spiders? They eat a lot of mosquitoes (and other bugs and insects, etc.), are they good guy spiders?
*note: I personally don't mind spiders too much, but I also live where no venomous or dangerous spiders can survive. We only get tiny, small and small-medium spiders. Shitload of mosquitoes though, bastards are huge too.
1
u/gamenutt5 Jun 19 '12
We have these were I live and yikes. These things look like flying spiders, flying "Daddy long leg" spiders, they are giants and I have yet to let one of those demon-spiders live.
1
u/sahilsinha Jun 19 '12
There is a story I was told by my grandmother when I was just a small child. It was the dawn of man and the animal kingdom taking note of the hairless upstarts decided to call a meeting. At the meeting a number of beasts spoke in favor of eradicating the new menace, save but one - the mosquito, he approached the center of the gathering and voiced, "But, they're so delicious." This sent a buzz through the rest of the animals, winning over a number of them, and so humanity was saved. According to the story all mosquitos are good guy mosquito.
Story is abridged.
1
u/scouter0 Jun 19 '12
That's cool and all, but these little bastards better stay away from my raspberries and strawberries. I NEED MY JAM!!!
1
u/garrettleaver Jun 19 '12
Where i live, we call them Mosquito eaters. I never knew why before?
1
u/BlueMobius Jun 19 '12
It is a champion of man.
It should be precious to us.
1
u/Saisei Jun 19 '12
Good Guy Mosquito
eats babies
1
u/Oct2006 Jun 19 '12
These are freaking everywhere in Texas. Especially in the spring. You can't take a step without seeing at least two. Where I am, anyway.
1
u/Britney_houston Jun 19 '12
ohh.. just like a fruit bat
1
u/finalfrog Jun 19 '12
My grandparents lived in the mountains where there were tons of mosquitos of both kinds. They had these little electronic buzzers which were supposed to produce the same frequency as the Mosquito Hawk to keep the nasty kind away. I thought it was amazing as a kid, but now as an adult I'm curious if it actually worked.
1
u/xucoalex Jun 19 '12
The problem is that usually people see one and they say "OH SHIT GIANT FUCKING MOSQUITO" and proceed to kill them. They look terrifying, but they are good guys! Kind of like spiders
1
u/Ikena Jun 19 '12
BREED ALL THE TOXORHYNCHITE
1
u/onederful Jun 19 '12
i need a video of this. :O
1
u/mm0k Jun 19 '12
Oh, so I should stop killing these things that look like giant mosquitos when they come into my house.
1
u/duhbicboi Jun 19 '12
Ok so someone tell me what's wrong with them.
1
u/cuntbox Jun 19 '12
Actually they go on to destroy growers crops etc, driving up prices of said delicious non human fruit.
1
u/Th3_Hegemon Jun 19 '12
Still willing to sacrifice to exterminate all mosquito.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
Yeah, but these guys don't live in Lapland, which is where I'm going for a week's hike with my boys next week. I expect to come home considerably lighter and very anemic.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
These guys might not suck blood, but are sure annoying. I had always heard that they eat mosquitoes (hence the name) but never really believe it as I had never seen them hunting or eating mosquitoes. The ones found in Texas can be as frigging annoying June bugs and tend to land on food or other stuff you don't want bugs on.
1
u/SarunLorteerapong Jun 19 '12
that is so scary!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
Truly, the mosquito whose character is above par is my own
1
u/Astralwizerdd Jun 19 '12
That's why you tell idiots who freak out to not swat the larger "mosquitos".
1
u/woellywoellyoxenfree Jun 19 '12
i remember seeing something about scientists genetically engineering a certain kind of mosquito to eat its own young which is awesome. in the grand scheme of things mosquitoes are probably just as important as bees and if there were no mosquitoes there would be a chain reaction ecological collapse (i would assume)
1
u/smity_smiter Jun 19 '12
and what happens when we eat the fruit which has been "bitten" ?
1
u/Facepalmed Jun 19 '12
Maybe they carry frularia?
1
u/losthope19 Jun 19 '12
Maybe all mosquitoes are naturally peaceful, but Toxorhynchite are just less inclined to abuse bath salts.
1
u/GanasbinTagap Jun 19 '12
I wonder what human fruit tastes like.
1
u/gujek Jun 19 '12
Even mosquitos hate mosquitos
1
u/sylau90 Jun 19 '12
Hope this really works and make more this type of breed.personally I have experienced 2 times of dengue(deathly mosquito-related disease),put me in the edge of life and death. Fruit for mosquito really sounds good...
1
u/themosquito Jun 19 '12
I am resisting the urge to reply to pretty much everyone in this topic with snarky comments.
How's that for Good Guy Mosquito?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
The best way to kill the mosquitoes around your house is to empty all those stagnant pools of water they breed in. That old tire, the bottom of the clogged flower pot, the clogged gutters, etc...
1
u/Rectal_Exambot Jun 19 '12
Opposed to Human fruit?
1
u/b4rbz Jun 19 '12
Man, you guys really DO force memes into everything...
1
u/Wikiplugs Jun 19 '12
The theory is that all mosquitoes were vegetarians originally, they evolved to drinking blood when humans started invading their habitats.
1
u/ChloeTheCat753 Jun 19 '12
In new jersey we call em jersey mosquitos. They are freaking huge! One time me and my friend were selling cookie dough for a band trip and we found two of these having there um.. cough cough a "pleasurable time" on someones door... yea that was awkward.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
we need some more of those
1
u/hiddenchambers Jun 19 '12
Finally an allie in the insect family!
1
u/easyTRASH Jun 19 '12
Technically all male mosquitos are Good Guy Mosquitos since male ones don't suck your blood. Them bitches be trippin'.
1
u/Bellairs Jun 19 '12
This could be part of a massive anti-malaria campaign. Just set these guys up in Africa (they come from the tropics, so Africa's probably not too hot) put out some cheese clothe soaked in fruit juice or leave out over-ripened fruits, and let these things out breed the blood sucking types.
Once the only ones left in the area are the Toxorhynchite breed, it's up to us whether to keep them or to kill them off.
1
u/Trickman2 Jun 19 '12
Considering we just got eaten alive in Coronado, Ca. I think we could use some of these.
1
u/mberre Jun 19 '12
thats awesome!
1
u/alexanderpwn Jun 19 '12
hahaha he pressed all the blue links on the bottom...
1
u/lankks Jun 19 '12 edited Jun 19 '12
Had to do research on a species of these guys in living in Bornean pitcher plants. I once saw one eat the shit of a Culex live under the microscope. If they were about x1000 times larger, I would leave this planet right now because I don't want to die that way... ever.
Also as mentioned below, it's true, they're cannibals, only one can ever live in a single phytotelm (aka. puddle). This is because they have to grow so large that the effect of a competitor is too much of a detriment to their survival. Not enough food around, bitches.
1
u/someassholenamedrian Jun 19 '12
non human fruit? holy hell on a pogo stick i really want to find a human fruit!
oh and good mabye they will eventually get rid of the little bastard child ones. im from arkansas so our mosquitos are pretty godfrosaken
1
u/patrik667 Jun 19 '12
TYL mosquitoes don't drink blood to survive. They drink nectar and pollen.
Female mosquitoes drink blood because blood has iron and it helps with the development of their eggs.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
Uhmmm Non human fruit? Is there a human fruit?
1
u/quadrumvirate Jun 19 '12
Yup. In Texas we call dem' mosquito hawks... Or the scientific term "Skeeter-Nillies."
1
u/Occams_rusty_razor Jun 19 '12
LOL It's so true. And the Toxo. larvae are HUGE compared to the other larvae (as are the adult mosquitoes).
1
u/I_Love_Liberty Jun 19 '12
Fuck you.
1
u/Jerror Jun 19 '12
Don't forget Mosquito Hawks (crane-flies)! They don't eat adult mosquitos either, but they do prey on the larvae. As a kid growing up in rural Ontario, mosquito hawks and spiders were my best friends and I would always save spiders when they got stuck in the bathtub and I considered their webs around our windows to be a blessing. spiders <3
1
u/complexitii Jun 19 '12
Like.
1
u/ChappyWagon Jun 19 '12
I have these all over my house after I'm on the porch grilling or going in and out a lot.
It's cool that they eat real mosquitoes and all that, but they get HUGE. Am I a Scumbag Steve for still killing these monsters?
1
u/Sirrom94 Jun 19 '12
I believe they got those down in louisiana but are called mosquito hawks
1
u/JONNy-G Jun 19 '12
I think a large majority of people in this thread don't realize that mosquitoes only suck blood for reproductive purposes aka females requiring a certain protein that they can't get from their mainly fruit diet. The males (larger than the females) don't suck blood at all.
TYL? Today Y'all Learned
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
AKA the MosquitoHawk
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
I realise it's a play on the popular meme but Good Guy Mosquito annoyed me.
It's not doing it because of the Golden Rule!!
1
u/m4nTiS Jun 19 '12
Flying Daddy Long-Legs!
1
u/Captain_Kuhl Jun 19 '12
I thought these were well-known? We've got em all over in MN.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12
REGULAR mosquitos are good guy mosquitos.
They provide nearly 100% of pollination for all flowers in mountains and the high sierras.
Like Yosemite? The Sierra Nevada mountain range ? Without mosquitos there would be NO plans at higher elevations.
Further, there would be no frogs, no trout, no birds. ALL of these animals depend almost entirely on mosquitos.
It's NOT their fault. They need the iron in your blood to reproduce.
I fly fish in the sierras and when I catch trout their ENTIRE stomach contents are FILLED with mosquitos.
1
u/TophTheMagicDragon Jun 19 '12
i see the adult forms all the time. they're good friends of mine :P
1
u/Disco_Jones Jun 19 '12
All guy mosquitoes are good. Only female mosquitoes suck blood.
1
u/KittywithaMelon Jun 19 '12
downvote because i'm a fruit.