Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: moccacake on 27/02/2007 10:14:45
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How high can a mosquito(the insect) fly?
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Don't know the answer to the question, but given that mosquitoes don't fly migration routes, or for any distance at all, they will not want to fly very high off the ground.
Ofcourse, there are two different meanings to the question how high something can fly, the height above sea level, or the height above ground level (which is a relevant different if you are high up in a mountain - where the lower air density might still make flight more difficult, even though you may still be close to the ground).
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I mean how high with relative to the ground.
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Ofcourse, there are two different meanings to the question how high something can fly, the height above sea level, or the height above ground level (which is a relevant different if you are high up in a mountain - where the lower air density might still make flight more difficult, even though you may still be close to the ground).
In Africa, some higher areas are reported to be free of malaria transmitting mosquitoes, not because of lower air density but because of lower temperatures at higher altitudes. Due to global warming some of the areas that used to be free of mosquitoes are now also invaded by them.
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I grew up near a set of three forts- Ft. Barrancas, Ft. McRee, and Ft. Pickens. At Ft. Barrancas there is an 8ft high wall. The legend is that this wall was built to keep out the mosquitoes. It didn't work, Ft. Barrancas was a site for constant epidemics of yellow fever (transmitted by mosquitoes). So I guess they can fly over 8 ft.
Colleen
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In Africa, some higher areas are reported to be free of malaria transmitting mosquitoes, not because of lower air density but because of lower temperatures at higher altitudes. Due to global warming some of the areas that used to be free of mosquitoes are now also invaded by them.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414687
Malaria in England in the Little Ice Age
from Emerging Infectious Diseases
Paul Reiter, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Present global temperatures are in a warming phase that began 200 to 300 years ago. Some climate models suggest that human activities may have exacerbated this phase by raising the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Discussions of the potential effects of the weather include predictions that malaria will emerge from the tropics and become established in Europe and North America. The complex ecology and transmission dynamics of the disease, as well as accounts of its early history, refute such predictions. Until the second half of the 20th century, malaria was endemic and widespread in many temperate regions, with major epidemics as far north as the Arctic Circle. From 1564 to the 1730s--the coldest period of the Little Ice Age--malaria was an important cause of illness and death in several parts of England. Transmission began to decline only in the 19th century, when the present warming trend was well under way. The history of the disease in England underscores the role of factors other than temperature in malaria transmission.
Introduction
The earth's climate has always been in a state of change. The past 250 to 300 years have seen a fairly steady warming trend. Average temperatures are now approaching those at the height of the Medieval Warm Period, near the end of the 12th century. The intervening centuries included a much colder period, the Little Ice Age, by far the most important climatic fluctuation in recent history[1]. Such fluctuations, spanning several generations, are natural phenomena that have recurred several times in the past 10,000 years. They take place against a backdrop of episodes of longer duration and greater impact, such as the last Ice Age (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). In recent years, there has been growing concern that human activities may be modifying the natural climate. A decline in temperatures from the 1940s to the late 1970s gave rise to warnings that industrial pollutants were causing global cooling[2,3]. Subsequent warming has been attributed to increased concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels, and other greenhouse gases[4]. Climate models suggest that this trend could accelerate in the coming century, although the contribution of human-induced greenhouse gases to global temperatures is far from clear[4-6].
Discussions of the potential impact of human-induced global warming frequently include malaria, a disease widely perceived as tropical. Articles in the popular and scientific press have predicted that warmer temperatures will result in malaria transmission in Europe and North America[7-12]. Such predictions, often based on simple computer models, overlook malaria's history; until recently, malaria was endemic and common in many temperate regions, and major epidemics extended as far north as the Arctic Circle[13]. Despite the disappearance of the disease from most of these regions, the indigenous mosquitoes that transmitted it were never eliminated and remain common in some areas. Thus, although temperature is important in the transmission dynamics of malaria, many other variables are of equal or greater importance. This article reviews the history of the disease in a nontropical country--England--during the coldest years of the Little Ice Age.
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as high as his wings will take him
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as high as his wings will take him
Not necessarily - spider can 'fly' much higher than their non-existent wings will take them - they (or some species of them) will simply spin out a thread, and let the wind take them up.
Or, you may have recently heard about the hang glider pilot who got caught in a tornado, and got sucked up to 32,000 feet, and almost froze to death, and almost died of anoxia, and was lucky to survive - her colleague did not survive.
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How high can a mosquito(the insect) fly?
Not high enough !!
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if they were in a 747 20,000 plus feet perhaps
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apparently at least 5 feet. i have a mosquito bite on my forehead
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When I lived in Africa I often used to sit on the roof of my 2-storey house & I don't ever remember seeing mosquitoes up there
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apparently at least 5 feet. i have a mosquito bite on my forehead
[:D] (but laughing with, not at)
i remember seeing a programme with arial photography of swarms of mosquitos over Lake Victoria (I think). Vast numbers of mosquitos hatch simultaneously, and the locals catch them as an extra food source - they make them into buscuits. However, these clouds of mosquitos appeared to be several hundred feet high. I don't have a link to anything from it, but here is another shot.
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/angela_louise/ang_andventure/1172241180/africa07_2955.jpg/tpod.html
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How high can a mosquito(the insect) fly?
Hi!
I'm also looking for the reply to find out how high should be the apartment I want to buy in a tropical country.
Thanks!
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Have you seen the TV footage of the astronauts getting into the space shuttle? I don't remember there being anyone there with a fly swater.
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If a mosquito was to bite someone who had recently taken a tab of LSD i would presume flying high would not be a problem.
Sorry, back to subject . With a mosquito being so small i doubt there is any apartment in any building they couldn't reach with the assistance of a gust of wind or a friendly thermal.
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I mean how high with relative to the ground.
Doesnt that depend on how high the ground is?
Sea level!
ERR I think if caught by an up thrust of hot wind it could go quite high, but I dont know that that would qualify as it diddnt actually fly- it was pushed!
Surely the higher it gos, the easier it is? What could restrict it going higher into different layers of the atmosphere?
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ERR I think if caught by an up thrust of hot wind it could go quite high, but I dont know that that would qualify as it diddnt actually fly- it was pushed!
Jolly. Many birds use wind & thermals to gain altitude do you class that as flying.
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ERR I think if caught by an up thrust of hot wind it could go quite high, but I dont know that that would qualify as it diddnt actually fly- it was pushed!
Jolly. Many birds use wind & thermals to gain altitude do you class that as flying.
No its gliding and using the hot air to its advantage, but yeah if you could it then people would say you could fly- so yes it flying.
But I think the main gist of the post was how high can a mosquito fly on its own propulsion-
I considered that to mean on a normal day with no hot air helping it.
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I was always led to believe that mosquitoes can’t fly very high, however there are over 2,000 different species of mosquito and I can say without any hesitation that one of these species can indeed reach a respectable altitude.
I live in Beijing, China and I’m on the 19th floor of a high rise, and if I leave a window open and a light on, I end up with more mosquitoes in the room than I can shake a stick at! With no light on I only get a couple. This would indicate that they can see the light and are able to actively navigate to the source.
The first (ground) floor has a ceiling height of 4 metres, the subsequent floors have a ceiling height of 2.5 metres, a total including floor thickness of about 57 metres (187 feet).