Mosquito Diet Question

[dsonyay]

For a short period in March we have swarms of the crane flies ("skeeter hawks"). One morning last year they were swarming in between me and my neighbor's house. We have an area between us that stays very damp and it seems to be a spot these insects are drawn to.

Coinciding with this was the appearance of martins swooping down between our houses. It was an exciting time for me because this was the first day I had a group of martins flying that close to my gourd rack. This was fairly early in the morning and mixed in were mosquitos. At the time, I didn't think they were trying to feed on the crane flies- I was just overly excited about seeing them for the first time that year. I'm not sure if the martins hit any mosquitos but they were surely taking advantage of the many thousands of crane flies. They too are small- but larger than mosquitos. In late winter, the martins may not be as picky about eating the large higher flying insects. It could be the martins are feeding on what they can until the bug population increases as the spring and summer come around.

Eating a few mosquitos during this time makes sense. I'm sure they lose interest once the big bugs are in full force.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I would think that the martins prefer a mixture of all kinds of bugs to help them keep healthy and strong, a bit like people eating their vegetables...So if they see a mosquito, they probably like to catch it since they don't get to see that many.

[flyin-lowe]

I have read in a few different places that the way that martins can wipe out a dragonfly population it can cause mosquito populations to go up. Dragonflies will do more damage to mosquito's the martins will. I think if a martin comes across a mosquito it might grab it but as many have mentioned the two probably don't cross paths that often. Plus most mosquito's don't give much bang for the buck for a martin.

[dsonyay]

I have read in a few different places that the way that martins can wipe out a dragonfly population it can cause mosquito populations to go up. Dragonflies will do more damage to mosquito's the martins will. I think if a martin comes across a mosquito it might grab it but as many have mentioned the two probably don't cross paths that often. Plus most mosquito's don't give much bang for the buck for a martin.

The morning I observed the martins feeding low was a foggy/misty morning. Might have been a reason for the low feeding too. Guess they have to make things work for them weather conditions won't allow for high altitude feeding. Would be interesting to have all these theories backed up with serious research. Maybe there has been some done.

happy thanksgiving

[flyin-lowe]

If our "theories" get proven then we won't have anything to talk about .

[Scott D.- La]

There is only one thing to do, and you know how I like to research stuff. I be chopping up some Martin's looking for skeeter's even if I have to go through a hundred pair to find some. I am too deep into this thread now, I must do it!!!!!!

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

I think that given a choice, all creatures are lazy or maybe you'd care to regard that as "efficient". And...if not for the outright saving of energy, any extra time around the nest is time that can be spent defending the young. So, given a choice, Martins would probably rather make as few trips for food as is required. However, when the prime-rib is all gone or was never around to begin with, I suspect that the survival instinct will require them to eat whatever they can find up to the point of starvation. I can't see why Mosquitoes would be preferred over more nutritionally "dense" choices. In areas like mine, you can't even coax a Martin to build a nest when prime feeding sites with dragon-fly-filled marshes are just a few miles away. In my opinion, the worst possible place to try to start a colony would be a dry area that's a couple miles away from a marsh or lake. They laugh at my Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes, Midges and Flying Ants are probably food most utilized by "poor" Martins.

[Seller]

If PM's liked mosquitos,there would be PM's in Alaska.I'll bet there are more mosquitos on 10 sq.miles of Tundra than there is in all of the swamps in Louisianna.

I played in a softball game in Alaska 1955 during my military stay on the flight line at midnight,the land of the midnight sun-remember,We started out with a new white softball when we were finished it was black and red from killing mosquitos as it flew thru the air.Blood and smashed mosquito's.

dick

Yea I've experienced the same thing. I was stationed at Shemya for a year (87-88) and while inprossecing in Anchorage for a week in late July we also played a ball game. It was pretty miserable and didnt last too long. I was amazed at the dark swarms/clouds of skeeters as they moved around. They're big too!

Growing up in Tx my father had two PM houses up and still to this swears that PM's main food source is misquitos, I see no reason to tell him otherwise. ha ha

[Peter Huszcz]

Hi all!

The mosquito theory came about as marketing pitch.
When cable television was introduced, one company that manufactured TV antennas ,to avoid going out of business, started to manufacture aluminum purple martin houses - the one with 12 6X6X6 compartments on the pole. To convince the potential buyers they claim that PM eats his own weight of mosquito every day... and the rest is history.
Every PM landlord knows that mosquito are NOT PMs food. Who thinks differently is just kidding himself - that's all.
Sorry for being so blunt.

Love you all, Peter.

[Matt F.]

started to manufacture aluminum purple martin houses - the one with 12 6X6X6 compartments on the pole. To convince the potential buyers they claim that PM eats his own weight of mosquito every day... and the rest is history.
Every PM landlord knows that mosquito are NOT PMs food. Who thinks differently is just kidding himself - that's all.
Sorry for being so blunt.

Love you all, Peter.

Let's not forget is was the huge boom of Martin housing sales by the aforementioned company in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, that provided tens of thousands of durable, and mostly starling free housing, in the eastern U.S. and Canada.
These massive amounts of well built, aluminum houses, I'm convinced, has been a big reason why we have the large numbers of Martins we have today.
I've read enough from the writings of J.L. Wade, that I'm convinced he firmly believed that Martins consumed large numbers of mosquitos.
Of course thanks to wonderful field research, we now know that mosquitos do not make up a substantial part of the Martin's diet.
It's still intriguing though, to see reports from the field, like this:

D. W. Micks recently wrote (in lit.) that he examined the stomach contents of a Purple Martin killed by a vehicle near Gilchrist, TX one spring approximately 10 years ago and found the stomach full of mosquitoes, most of which were identifiable as Aedes Sollicitans, a salt marsh species that was present there in huge numbers.

Above quote taken from this article:
http://purplemartin.org/update/MosCont.html

[Virgil McCoy]

Peter, some studies have shown Purple Martins do in fact eat mosquitos to a degree weather it be minimal or not at all in some areas. Our responsibility as landlords are to "Market" the Purple Martin so its not a lie to state they eat mosquitos when they have been found in at least a few digestive systems.

[Peter Huszcz]

Hi Virgil!

Of course I market the PM as mosquito eaters, and propobely they ocasionally eat mosquito or two (so it's not a lie) but not to extend that would effect mosquito population in our back yards.


Peter.

[dsonyay]

Maybe it's not a bad idea if people think the martins eat mosquitos. In my area of south La many people put martin housing up with mosquito control in mind. It's a win-win situation for purple martins in the end.

I kind of wonder if some of these same people would lose interest if it wasn't for this reason.

On the other hand, a very good friend of mine did not know martins preferred dragonflies. He didn't think it was a good thing since dragonflies eat mosquitos. He seems to have lost a little respect for martins - all this time he thought they were part of the mosquito control process. These little guys can't get a break