What would happen if every single mosquito disappeared?

Most people in the world absolutely hate mosquitoes. Personally, I don't mind them - they don't really bite me, so they do not bother me that much.

- By Shüné Oliver

This is not the case for most people, who cannot stand the itchy bites and annoying noise mosquitoes make.

Because of the work I do on malaria, I even spend my time taking care of them and keeping them alive so my colleagues and I can research them.

This is serious, important work because mosquitoes are more than just annoying: they are the most dangerous animals in the world. No other animals are responsible for more people's deaths - mosquitoes spread a number of deadly diseases. So, would it not be better for the world if all these terrible animals just disappeared?

Of all the mosquito species, only the females of about 40 types are truly dangerous because they can pass on diseases that make people sick

What are mosquitoes?

To be able to start answering the question, we need to understand what mosquitoes are. Mosquitoes are actually a large group of insects.

They are flies, which means the adults look completely different to baby mosquitoes, known as larvae. The adults also have only two wings, unlike bees and wasps, which have four.

There are many different types of biting flies. All of them need to take blood from animals including humans to be able to lay eggs. Even though there are many biting flies, such as horseflies and tsetse flies, mosquitoes are by far the most common and widespread.