The weather is warming, spurring a host of flora and fauna back into action. While most are welcome, some are not, and one species in particular is downright dreaded. The mosquito. Our dislike for this insect is evident in all of those glowing blue lights we see hanging in our neighbor's yards. Bug zappers.

But we have been duped. While these devices are sold to rid our yards of these pests, they do nothing of the kind. Mosquitoes are not attracted to light; ultraviolet, incandescent, mercury vapor, none of it. They are attracted to carbon dioxide expelled by animals, and body heat. What may be confusing us is that piled up at the bottom of these devices are insects that appear very similar to mosquitoes. Midges, which are attracted to light, and do not bite, are major victims of this attraction. A close look will reveal that these midges are missing the piercing long nose (proboscis) that mosquitoes have.

In one study, cited in an article by Eirik Blom, only 31 of almost 14,000 insects killed by bug zappers were female (the ones that bite) mosquitoes. In another, of 10,000 insects killed, eight were mosquitoes. What these bug zappers do attract are many of the insects that prey upon mosquitoes. In yet another study, nearly 2,000 of the dead insects were species that preyed upon mosquitoes. For every mosquito that got zapped, 250 of mosquito predators were taken out of action. Think of this, throughout our history of battle with the mosquito, in which entomologists have been called upon for a solution, have you ever seen the "authorities" employing bug zappers?

In addition to mosquito predators, we are killing off members of a group of important flower and tree pollinators, the moths. Less than one percent of moth species are pests to humans (Clothes and Meal Moths, Gypsy Moths, Tomato Hornworm). The rest of the balance are greatly beneficial to our fauna. Over the years I have been photo-documenting the moths of Connecticut for a book on the moths of the Northeast. In my yard in Killingworth, I have attracted over 700 species of the 2,300 species of moths in this state. I use a bug zapper in which I've disabled the electrifying grid by clipping and closing off the wires connected to it. Had it been working as the manufacturer intended, it would have killed tens of thousands of beneficial moths over the years. And that's just one zapper in one yard.

If you have one of these zappers, I urge you to unplug it. If you continue to run it, you do so with the gratitude of the 'skeeters!

John Himmelman

Connecticut Butterfly Association

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Last updated 18 September, 2004 .