My go is for the Buzzard, it would sure as hell make desert trips and heat waves seem a lot less worrying and paranoiac.
mosquito
The only animal I think is truly worth eradicating is the bedbug.
Every other insect from the mosquito, to the tick is an incredibly important source of food (especially protein) for other animals, especially in places with very harsh conditions where other insects struggle to survive. I used to hate and fear insects but now I know they all have their place.
All, except the bedbug. These things are specifically designed to hunt us and pretty much only us. They have precious few predators, much less predators that rely on their existence. They deserve obliteration.
True, but from what I’ve read, virtually all mosquitoes don’t bite people. You can wipe out the 1% or less of the ones that do without significant environmental impact since the things that eat mosquitoes aren’t choosy about which ones so you really are just reducing their available food by like 1%, and even some of that will probably be backfilled by other species of mosquitoes since the ones that bite people don’t only bite people.
I partly covered this in my response below. If we’re talking about eradicating disease-carrying mosquitoes from populated areas (and or invasive), then sure that makes sense. But studies that say eradication (even of the harmful ones) would have no negative consequence are very much debated by researchers. It’s reddit, but here’s a well cited comment from a researcher who works with mosquitoes that does a better job of explaining why it’s not that simple: https://www.reddit.com/r/Entomology/comments/1icgbrg/comment/m9qxizu/
I like your answer as its way more thought through than what most people tend to answer when questions like this is asked, like I wish seagulls would just die out as the niche they have is doing what other species are doing in an obnoxious way. I do recognise that this would likely have ramifications that I don’t know about though, so I wouldn’t want resources used to actively eradicate them.
The Tick is not a source of food, he is a source of JUSTICE
Ticks, sure, plenty of things to eat them and they’re only a problem a few times of year here. But I think the ecosystem will survive the removal of mosquitos, even if some animals might suffer for a while or perish as well. Flies come close to the amount of annoyance I receive from the mosquito, but not close enough. I hate them so much, my perception of what seasons I like and hate is entirely dependant on if mosquitos (and other bugs) are around more often.
In the same way you’ve learned to tolerate bugs, I used to be fearful of spiders, though I never hated them. Nowadays I love to see a spider making itself at home in my room, the kitchen, the porch, the basement, etc. A bug trap installing itself at no cost to me, what could be better?
I totally get the animosity towards mosquitoes. I spend a lot of time birding in swamps and often leave with no fewer than 20 giant bites (and another 10 from fucking horseflies). I used to be in the same camp as you, until someone explained to me that mosquitoes are one of the few species that can survive in places where conditions are harsh, and they’re food not just for land dwelling or airborne animals, but also aquatic species. They’re also important pollinators, especially males since they feed on nectar and not blood.
Eradicating them 20 or 30 years ago would have probably been fine, since other insects could benefit from less competition and likely take up those niches. Today however, insect populations are literally collapsing all around us, and it’s only getting worse. There is less and less food available for those on the bottom of the food chain, and the effects are going to trickle up all the way to us. Mosquitoes may be one of the few species able to ride out the apocalypse we’re currently wreaking on nature.
I think local eradication is still important around human populations, especially for disease-carrying varieties. But leave the rest of them alone. We’ve levelled enough destruction on ecosystems. Save that energy for the true villain - bedbugs.
Humans.
Here’s the answer I was looking for! I’m surprised I had to scroll so far to reach it. We are the source of most of what’s wrong with the world so I’m pretty sure the rest of the animals would vote us off the island too.
Mosquitos. Dad died from a bite, got West Nile virus as a result of it. I’d give anything to have him back.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I agree, mosquitoes are what I would choose.
I’m so sorry
Sorry that’s fucking gross. OP wants to walk through a world of rotting meat and unscavenged carcasses. Seriously. Read up on what happened to vultures in India when they gave all their cattle Diclofenac.
Cultures might not be pretty but they are fucking awesome and entirely necessary. Why peeps gotta hate on the cleaning staff I don’t know.
I agree, but got different reasons.
OP went with “less paranoic” as their barrier of choice, whereas the “tick” and “mosquito” choices are actual posts that are dangerous.
Personally I fall in the mosquito camp. I don’t know if anything depending on them specifically. And even if there is, I’m ok with sacrificing them too.
How decline of Indian vultures led to 500,000 human deaths
Also vultures are beautiful.
My sweet girl Zsa Zsa.
And there is the King Vulture.
Bearded Vulture
Egyptian Vulture
Yeah, I think culturally we just don’t like things that remind us of dead things, and if a lot of scavengers are around, it means something’s dead or about to be.
I’m glad people are coming around to realizing how essential (and honestly really cool) they are, as much as I’d never wanna kiss or even smell one. 😉
King Vulture looks like a kid coloured it, just pure chaos.
😆
I will say, it does make me feel like I’m a bit on the boring side being fairly monochromatic.
Just need a glowup from a 5 year old and some paint!
Bearded vultures swallow bones, often shattered after they drop them onto rocks from great heights, but sometimes whole. They are so badass.
Very awesome! Some quick reading says the bones are actually their primary diet. They’d often rather have the bones than the meat. Talk about a biological niche.
And it can chomp down some huge looking bones!
Mosquito
Oh no, vultures are great.
For me—probably ticks.
Was looking for this before commenting. They are terrible creatures full of dissease. I’d pick them to be banished to hell instantly.
Then I could finally got hammocking in shorts without a full body inspection every evening.
If you scroll down a lot of ppl agree with us. Horrible little things. I’m in the midlantic and this year, everyone I know who’s gone camping or hiking has come home with at least one tick. Every. Single. Time.
Ticks.
Mosquitoes. If I’m allowed, midges too.
What are swallows etc going to eat?
Well if they ate all the muskitoes we’d let them be.
Ticks. Fuck those.
Agreed. I know that globally, mosquitos are worse, so it’s a little self-serving to put ticks above them. But the mosquitos in my area do not carry malaria, yellow fever, etc. I think West Nile is about as bad as it gets?
Meanwhile, 50% of the ticks here carry lyme disease. I was going to put down the lyme disease parasite, except then I remembered my vet tech offspring rattling off the list of diseases ticks carry that can fuck you up in all sorts of inventive ways.
Honestly, they have changed my life, making me stop hiking in the woods or rolling in the grass like I did as a kid when they had yet to move into my area in force.
Humans. We destroy everything.
Fuck ticks.
Ourselves.
What is worrying about a buzzard? Are you a small rodent?
Don’t want to get rid of a good scavenger like the buzzard. They really help the ecosystem. Particularly with population and disease control.
