ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the rhetorical constraints of defining species, drawing from literature in history and philosophy of science that addresses "the species problem" in the sciences. It explores one specific case that demonstrates the tension between "tree thinking" and the need for a stable system for communication. The former, thinking of the mosquito as a technology, might fall within the purview of rhetoric of science and technology (RST); the latter, thinking of the mosquito as a vector of disease, might fall within the purview of rhetoric of health & medicine (RHM). The authors are choosing those characteristics that they see as relevant to malaria control for this particular audience of mosquito experts, but indicating flexibility in the transmission-related behavior of each species, thus flexibility in how they are defined by this community. The chapter explores the rhetorical form "mosquito" takes in the discourse on pest control research for malaria.
