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A photo of a mosquito biting a human arm. New research has shown that microplastic is consumed by mosquito larvae and remains in the insect body until adulthood. Scientists have expressed concern that similar flying insects may propagate microplastics. ( Mohamed Nuzrath | pixabay )
Mosquitoes and other insects shed tiny pieces of plastic in the air, pollute the environment and enter the food chain.
The microplastic problem
Several previous studies have shown that microplastics are what scientists call small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long, which are becoming more and more of a major problem. They are found in the seas and oceans where underwater creatures accidentally swallow them. Microplastics are often found in food and water.
The problem of microplastic persists on earth. According to a study published in the newspaper of The royal societythese small nuisances enter the food chain through insects, especially mosquitoes.
Researchers at the University of Reading have observed mosquitoes from birth to death in a laboratory. They introduced fluorescent polystyrene beads to find out if the microplastics consumed by the larva would remain inside the insect until the adulthood.
That's exactly what Professor Amanda Callaghan, biologist and lead author of the study, found.
How can mosquitoes, other flying insects, spread microplastics?
The mosquito larva ingests microscopic plastic fragments that continue to be in the body of the insect until it reaches its adult form. Therefore, its predators such as birds and bats eat the mosquito and accidentally ingest the microplastic.
"It's a revealing research that has shown us for the first time that microplastics are able to cross many stages of life in flying insects, allowing them to contaminate all kinds of living creatures that would be there. normally not exposed, "said Callaghan. . "It's a shocking reality that plastic contaminates almost every corner of the environment and its ecosystems."
Although the study focused on mosquitoes, the researchers said this discovery could also be true for other similar flying insects. They could also ingest microplastics that are retained until the end of their life cycle.
"They'll be filled with insects that will eat them," Callaghan added. "There is no doubt that it will happen in nature."
An earlier study showed that larvae of flies and phryganes in Wales also ingested microplastics.
More research is needed to know exactly how microplastics are disrupting the ecosystem. Matt Shardlow, an executive of a charity and not involved in the study, said researchers should examine the role that microplastics could play in the decline of aquatic life.
Microbeads, a type of microplastic, in cosmetics are already banned in many parts of the world, including the United States.
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