Mosquitoes may be tiny, but they’re causing a big buzz among scientists who have asked Calgarians to help track their movement this summer. 

On May 28, the City of Calgary announced that it’s partnering with the University of Calgary (UofC) to study how an invasive house mosquito species is impacting the people, plants, and pets residing in the southern stretch of the province. 

Named ‘Skeeter Seekers,’ Calgarians can contribute to the project by visiting either the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary or Ralph Klein Park to pick up mosquito collection kits, which include a plastic tube for catching the pests and a return label.

John Soghigian, assistant professor of veterinary medicine at UCalgary, is leading the project and expects this initiative to be more successful than ones that have happened previously. 

“We’re hoping that this program will receive a better turnout, because it’s the summer and everyone likes to be outdoors now,” he said.

Soghigian said they are focusing on the Culex pipiens mosquito species, which, according to an article in the National Institutes of Health, is native to parts of Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. 

Despite having migrated to North America in the late 1990s, Soghigian said that it was first sighted in Edmonton in 2018. Over the past seven years, he said that the Culex pipiens has rapidly spread across the province, and that Calgary has just recently joined the trend. 

Alex Coker works at the city as an integrated pest management technician and is responsible for monitoring a variety of local insects and animals. She said that Calgary is home to approximately 40 different mosquito species.

With warmer months approaching, Coker said that mosquito activity is expected to increase as they make their way to water sources to lay eggs. The Culex pipiens, however, favours temporary pools like floodwater. 

“They use bodies of water that dry up multiple times through the year…like ditches,” she said.

Coker said that this poses challenges to where the city can install traps, as floodwater is often found in insecure spots. This gives the species a reproductive advantage — something Soghigian said is concerning.

Harder to catch, the easier they infect

What makes the Culex pipiens a considerable research candidate is its ability to spread the West Nile Virus (WNV), which is sparked by mosquitoes feeding on infected birds that naturally host the illness. 

“What we’re hoping to do is to track where this mosquito is and what pathogens it’s associated with,” said Soghigian.

He said that when residents of Calgary submit their mosquito collection kits, the tubes will go to his lab. Here, DNA will be extracted and examined to reveal the existence of any bacterial microorganisms. 

According to the World Health Organization, mosquitoes infected with the WNV often bite humans, but 80 per cent of people do not show symptoms. Still, the virus can cause people to develop severe neurological diseases, which have historically resulted in a small number of deaths.

“This is why this mosquito is quite a concern from a public health perspective,” said Soghigian. 

“Because it has the capability of transmitting diseases from birds to humans.”

However, he said that the WNV cannot be passed from person to person and that people can use bug repellent to limit their chances of being bitten.

While this makes the virus a small risk to humans, Soghigian said that animals, on the other hand, do not have this option, which puts them at a significantly higher risk.

Across Canada, birds and other mammals are capable of contracting the virus. Additionally, he said that Culex pipiens mosquitoes have the potential to transmit avian malaria, which would make birds across the nation vulnerable. 

In Alberta, specifically, Soghigian said that the WNV is the most popular mosquito-borne disease, and that this is impacting the province’s horse population.

Even with there being a vaccine for horses to help them combat the severity of the WNV, Soghigian said that there is no vaccine for humans. 

Overall, he said that there is little research on how the Culex pipiens impacts Canadian species, and his goal is to better the surplus of available knowledge.

More information about participating in the project is available online.