Open Writing

Hard to believe, isn’t it, that in all the millions of years, no one ever thought of making use of such a bountiful resource as mosquitoes. Even in the 1990’s, it was obvious that, worldwide, mosquitoes comprised the largest biomass of any form of animal life.

Down through the centuries, even before their role in disease transmission was known, the human reaction was simply to try to get rid of them. Swatters, netting, poisons, even magic spells. Migrate to the highlands when the mosquito season arrives. Swaddle yourself, and especially your children, from head to toe, to keep them at bay. Eat garlic, rub bear grease on all bare skin. Stay indoors or next to a smoky fire, as much as possible.

Over the years, people domesticated dangerous animals, found ways to use poisonous plants, braved the seas for seafood, but no one seems to have thought of domesticating the lowly mosquito.

As we know, there are at least 4,000 kinds of mosquitoes in the world today. Most of them are harmless to man. Only a few even attack humans, and then it is only the female, who seeks blood from a warm-blooded animal to provide protein for her eggs.

Since mosquitoes normally feed on the juices of damaged or over-ripe plant materials, they fill a niche not occupied by many of our domesticated species. While individually small, they are high in protein and certain vitamins, even in the wild. Both adults and larvae are prominent food sources of many fish and small animals, especially reptiles, which in turn are important in the food chains of many larger beings.

Bioengineering did not really come into it’s own until the turn of the century. By the late ‘90’s, it was becoming increasingly apparent that new sources of food were needed, to feed the exploding human population. At the same time, new discoveries relating to genetic engineering were opening unprecedented opportunities to researchers. Yet it was the brilliant insight of one woman, Margaret Pryzbilski, which began it all.

Dr. Margaret Pryzbilski, a geneticist in the Agricultural Entomology Department at Purdue University, was the daughter of South Bend factory workers. As a youngster Margaret spent many happy hours with her father and her grandfather, at their cottage on a small lake in southern Michigan.

It was there that Margaret became interested in mosquitoes. Mosquitoes could be a source of almost unbearable discomfort at times, yet they were one of the main food sources for the tadpoles and minnows which in turn were the food supply for bass, muskie, and even the lowly bluegill.

What if they could be altered, so that they could be grown commercially? With their short life span, surely a tremendous amount number of mosquitoes could be produced in a relatively small space, and a short span of time.

Margaret’s famous dissertation, Genetic Alteration of the Genus Culex, was the seminal treatise that led to the development of Culex Domesticus, and all its many variations.

In 2001, Margaret produced a Culex she named giganticus. It was approximately the same size, (although lighter in body mass), as the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Pen reared, it had a life span of as much as two years, and one of her early specimens produced an estimated 400,000 eggs. The larvae, or “wigglers” as they are called, were an inch long. The first commercial application was as freeze-dried fish bait.

As the supply increased, and breeding stock became available, both the freeze-dried larvae, and the bodies of deceased adults were utilized, first as poultry feed, then as pond-reared fish food.

Since Culex Domesticus, or Skeeters, as they were called, did not rely on blood as a protein source, the ease and low cost of Skeeter growing made it suitable for third-world agriculture. It was rapidly adopted by marginal farming cultures in the tropics. Over-ripe tropical fruit, supplemented with certain minerals, made ideal Skeeter food. Because of their size differential, and other genetic differences, they did not interbreed at all with the local, often numerous, mosquito populations, many of which were carriers of malaria, yellow fever and other serious diseases of mammals.

Inevitably, some Skeeters escaped to the wild. The adults became a minor pest in some areas, as they are today. However, the outsized wigglers soon displaced most of the wild varieties, so that in many parts of the world, the endemic mosquito problem has been almost forgotten.

Can you imagine the beautiful lakes of Minnesota and Ontario infested with millions of tiny, biting, clinging insects? Can you picture how dull our summer gardens would be without the color display and songs of the many varieties of Skeeters that are attracted to our feeders?

Around the world, in this year of 2096, the Skeeter is the most important food source of mankind, and of his many pets and domestic animals, birds, and fishes.

We should all give some thought, this Technology Week, to Technologist Pryzbilski. Her contribution to life as we know it may well be even greater than the great Master Technologist Bill Gates, Father of the Age of Computers.

Her famous phrase, “Don’t swat that mosquito, make him your friend!” has been a cornerstone of the World Peace Effort which is bringing armed conflict to an end. With plenty of food for all, and no mosquitoes to drive men wild, reason finally has come to mankind.

Margaret Pryzbilski, we salute you.