Hong Kong (CNN) A population of the world's most invasive mosquito species was almost completely wiped out by an experiment on two islands in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, according to a study published Wednesday.

The experiment successfully reduced the female Asian Tiger Mosquito population -- the main source of bites and disease transmission -- by up to 94%, reducing the number of reported human bites by 97%.

It isn't the first attempt by researchers to reduce mosquito populations across the world. In 2018, scientists from the Imperial College of London used gene-editing tools to render female mosquitoes sterile, while males developed normally and continued spreading the genetic mutation.

One of the Chinese study's researchers, Xi Zhiyong, a professor at Michigan State University, has been a longtime pioneer in this field of study. Running a mosquito factory in southern China, he previously attempted to use sterilized male mosquitoes to mate with unaltered females.

"We're building good mosquitoes that can help us fight the bad ones", Xi told CNN in 2016.