And that's something, it's plastic! Yes, mosquitoes carry it, along with various dangerous diseases.
You've probably heard about microplastic? They are microscopic particles of e.g. artificial fibers, tires, contact lenses and other human-made objects. They pollute the water and are also found in our bodies. And they don't serve us at all.
Microplastic can also be found in the bodies of mosquitoes. However, it does not harm the mosquitoes themselves, but it harms the animals that mosquitoes feed on. Where does microplastic in mosquito bodies come from? The answer is simple: from water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water reservoirs, and larvae can often be seen on the surface. And it is from this water that the bodies of mosquitoes contain microplastics.
Researchers from the University of Reading presented the results of their research in the journal "Biology Letters". They conducted experiments by administering microplastics to mosquito larvae that grew up in the water. When the larva transformed into an adult insect, small particles of plastic were also found in its body.
Microplastic can harbor bacteria and is sometimes saturated with toxic chemicals. - Plastic pollutes almost all ecosystems - admits prof. Amanda Callaghan, from the University of Reading, who has done research on mosquito larvae.
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Common mosquito larvae are able to consume fluorescent microplastic particles with a size of 0.002 mm. Prof. Callaghan points out that the mosquito larva cannot tell if it is eating algae or plastic particles.
Prof. Callaghan points out that since microplastic is found in the organisms of mosquitoes and other insects whose larvae mature in water, it means that plastic particles also find their way into the organisms of animals that eat insects - birds, bats and spiders.
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Of course, microplastic is also found in human organisms.