Genetically modified mosquitoes were created by a company called Oxitec, and they will be released into the wild through “field tests,” in the Florida Keys in 2021 and 2022, the company says.
The program which was approved for “experimental use” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May, will test to see if genetically engineered mosquitoes are a good pest control alternative to spraying insecticides.
These particular mosquitoes are male, and they’re genetically modified to carry a protein that will “inhibit the survival of their female offspring when they mate with wild female mosquitoes,” Oxitec says. The male offspring will survive, though.
Mosquito fun fact: Only female mosquitoes bite people—the males eat flower nectar, Eva Buckner, PhD, a medical entomology extension specialist at the University of Florida says.
The specific target is the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry serious, potentially lethal diseases like the Zika virus, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The Florida Keys is currently dealing with an outbreak of dengue; 47 people have been infected so far this year, according to reports.
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