CLOSE Arm yourself with knowledge so you aren't mosquito bait this summer. Buzz60's Sean Dowling has more. Buzz60

New research says microplastics eaten by mosquitoes can easily harm birds, bats and could even contaminate human food. (Photo: nechaev-kon, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Young mosquitoes who eat even small pieces of plastic could be contaminating other insects and mammals, according to new research.

Authors of a paper – published in The Royal Society journal Biology Letters on Wednesday – found that when a mosquito larva eats microplastic, that plastic can remain in the insect's body into adulthood. So, the microplastic could then be transferred to whatever might eat that mosquito, including birds.

The U.K. researchers conducted their study in a lab, but they say it's not a stretch to think that plastic could move up the food chain in this way.

“The implication is that you can have plastics at the bottom of the pond that are now going up into the air and being eaten by spiders and bats and animals that normally wouldn’t have access to that plastic,” author Amanda Callaghan at England's University of Reading told the Independent.

The microplastics used in the study were small latex beads, and authors noted smaller beads transferred more easily than larger beads into the mosquito's adult stage.

More: That bottled water you paid $3 for may contain tiny particles of plastic: Study

"Our study was a proof of concept in the laboratory," Callaghan told USA TODAY. "One of the next steps will be to sample lakes with plastics and mosquitoes to measure this."

Microplastic is common in waterways worldwide. Even arctic ice is choked with a record amount of the pollutant.

In an effort to reduce microplastics, some countries including areas of the U.S. and the U.K., have banned microbeads found in toothpastes, face scrubs and shower gels.

More: Even one piece of plastic can kill a sea turtle, study finds

More: 6 things you can do to stop plastic pollution today

Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets

CLOSE The Ocean Cleanup, dubbed System 001, began its journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch from San Francisco on Saturday after years in development. USA TODAY

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2DcFHMF