# How often do Introduced Species work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-introduced-species-work/710902>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 26, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-introduced-species-work/710902 "2015-01-26T03:21:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 10

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**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-introduced-species-work/710902/10 "2015-01-26T05:54:20Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> The species of mosquito that is being controlled, _Aedes aegyptii_, is not native to the US.

OTOH, they are already here, so the plan being considered doesn’t really involve _introducing_ them. Just introducing a genetically franken-modified freak version of them. From the OP’s link (bold added):

> [@](#):
>
> Enter Oxitec, a British biotech firm launched by Oxford University researchers. **They patented a method of breeding Aedes aegypti with fragments of proteins from the herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria as well as genes from coral and cabbage.** This synthetic DNA has been used in thousands of experiments without harming lab animals, but it is fatal to the bugs, killing mosquito larvae before they can fly or bite.

Those mosquitoes would make quite a salad bar!

I don’t quite see what the objections is. They are only going to release males, which don’t bite people. The males then compete with normal males for females, who will then lay eggs and the larva will die before they get around to biting anyone. There aren’t going to be any Peter Parker style mosquito-man people coming out of this.

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