Due to climate change in Latvia, species appear that have not been seen before, and new diseases may come with them.
As the entomologist Valdemars Spungis explained, the insect of the year is chosen to draw public attention to rare and useful species or some kind of problem.
This time, experts want to actualize the problem of climate change.
“The climate on the planet is changing, we have new types of mosquitoes, and perhaps new diseases can come with them. Thefore, we need to pay attention to mosquitoes, including malarial ones,” Spungis said.
According to him, at the moment the situation in Latvia is not dangerous.
“There are malaria mosquitoes in Latvia, but we have not been threatened yet,” said the researcher.
Mosquito larvae purify water and are included in the food chain as food for fish and carnivorous aquatic invertebrates, while bats and spiders eat the adult mosquitoes.
