With warmer weather comes mosquitoes. Mosquitoes suck, no pun intended. In underdeveloped countries mosquitoes also kill by carrying malaria. This is why I love the Provector "flower." Everything about it is designed to kill.


But why a flower, and not a juicy pseudo-human arm? Well, fun fact: Mosquitoes love sucking blood, but they love sucking nectar from flowers even more. Hence, this deadly flower and its irresistible siren's song.


From the flower's "petals," which use colors that attract different mosquito species, to the special environmentally friendly Bt pesticide that resides at its center, everything has been engineered by Thomas Kollars, of the Georgia Southern University at Statesboro, to attract and kill those flying six legged devils (Bt specifically targets mosquitoes).

Even the tiny screen at the center of the flower is specially engineered: The tiny holes are only large enough for the mosquito's tube-shaped mouth (the proboscis) to get through, thereby ensuring ants and other creepy crawlies won't get accidentally snared in this trap too.

The Provector is currently being tested in the wilds of Puerto Rico. We'll know if this deadly "flower" was a success next month at the American Mosquito Control Association meeting in New Orleans. [New Scientist]