ABSTRACT
It is fair to say that mosquitoes have inflicted more misery on human beings than any other animal, with at least one-seventh of humanity set to contract mosquito-born diseases this year. As a result, a range of powerful measures have been developed to cope with mosquitoes through prophylaxis, control or eradication—though to date with limited successes since malaria, Chikungunya, Zika, West Nile, dengue and yellow fever still rage. And yet, mosquitoes are also integral members of ecosystems, serving as fodder for fish, birds and bats, driving animal migrations, pollinating flowers, and much more. This book brings together scientists and humanists to assess how mosquitoes can better coexist with people. Our aim is to explore mosquito–human relationships through anthropology, history and ethics as well as entomology, molecular biology and health sciences. Environmental humanities of the mosquito may reveal new ways of controlling mosquitoes as well as better ways of protecting them. Can we learn to live with mosquitoes without them ultimately killing us or us killing them, thereby allowing us to enter a new age of Mosquitopia?
