Any Good Of Mosquitoes?

Every year thousands of Malaysian die from mosquito related diseases, like malaria, dengue and yellow fever. They are annoying and will follow you wherever you go looking for opportunity to bite you. Then leave you an itchy bump for days. Besides being a threat to humankind, mosquitoes also carry diseases that endanger livestock and pets.

With all these negative things, it's hard to imagine that mosquitoes fulfill any useful purpose. After being living in this earth for more than 2 million years, mosquitoes actually play an important role in our ecosystem. So what good are mosquitoes?

Mosquito larvae play an important role in the aquatic food chain. Described by Dr. Gilbert Waldbauer in his book The Handy Bug Answer Book, "mosquito larvae are filter feeders that strain tiny organic particles such as unicellular algae from the water and convert them to the tissues of their own bodies, which are, in turn, eaten by fish." They serve as the nutrient-packed snacks for fish and other aquatic animals. When turned into mosquitoes their role shifted from water to land. They become the nutritious meals for birds, bats, and spiders.

Mosquitoes represent an important part of the bottom of the food chain. Their extinction would have an enormous adverse affect on the entire ecosystem.

Source: http://insects.about.com/od/flies/f/what-good-are-mosquitoes.htm