GENTECH archive

London underground source of new insect forms

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: Subject : London underground source of new insect forms

: From : MichaelP <papadop@PEAK.ORG>

: Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 06:51:16 -0700 (PDT)

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London Times August 26 1998 A NEW species of mosquito is evolving on the London Underground in a development that has astonished scientists. The insects are believed to be the descendants of mosquitoes which colonised the tunnels a hundred years ago when the Tube was being dug. When they went below ground they were bird-biting pests. But over a century, deprived of their normal diet, the mosquitoes have evolved new feeding behaviour, dining on mammals including rats and mice - and human beings. They now plague maintenance workers. Kate Byne and Richard Nichols of Queen Mary and Westfield College in London have carried out tests to see if the Tube's mosquitoes, which have been named molestus, are now different from Culex pipiens, the bird-biting species which entered the Underground last century. To their amazement they found that it was almost impossible to mate those living above ground with those in the subterranean world, indicating that the genetic differences are now so great that the ones underground are well on their way to becoming a separate species. This usually happens only when species are isolated for thousands rather than tens of years. The team, whose findings are reported in BBC Wildlife magazine today, have also found genetic differences between mosquitoes on different Tube lines. They believe this is due to the draughts dispersing the insects along but not between lines. During the Second World War the insects attacked Londoners sheltering from Hitler's bombs. Roz Kidman Cox, the magazine editor, said: "It's a remarkable story of evolution. The scientists say that the differences between the above and below-ground forms are as great as if the species had been separated for thousands of years." The conditions on the Underground are probably ideal for mosquitoes to breed rapidly and frequently throughout the year. Temperatures can be balmy and the network is prone to penetration by water creating pools of stagnant water for breeding. There are more than 1,600 varieties of mosquitoes which live from the Arctic tundra to the tropical rain forests. ** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **