Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Mosquitoes in Ireland?

  • 06-10-2012 7:26pm
    #1
    Jenners!
    Registered Users Posts: 24 ✭


    I've moved into a new house this week, and I have discovered some deceased flies, on the bedroom window cill. One is flying about though, still very much alive. They look like mosquitoes, but make no sound. Could this be a parasite, or completely harmless ?

    Sorry for the photo quality, it has wispy long legs, slightly longer than the body.


Comments

  • #2
    cookie1977
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,794 ✭✭✭cookie1977


    They look like midge flies. Harmless bloodsuckers.
    https://www.google.ie/search?q=Midge+Flies&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1600&bih=813&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=dIRwULzpNcenhAejroCACA

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge


  • #3
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Only place in Ireland with real mosquitoes is Malahide. I believe this species came over in some plants or trees that some lord or whatever imported a few hundred years back. It has evolved now into a unique species that is protected by law and is not found anywhere else in the world. I am told their bite is quite bad and they are very aggressive I will try to find out more from my friend who lives there. If you not in Malahide they are Midges for sure.


  • #4
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 4,630 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Only place in Ireland with real mosquitoes is Malahide. I believe this species came over in some plants or trees that some lord or whatever imported a few hundred years back. It has evolved now into a unique species that is protected by law and is not found anywhere else in the world. I am told their bite is quite bad and they are very aggressive I will try to find out more from my friend who lives there. If you not in Malahide they are Midges for sure.

    I'm not so sure about that. I live in (east) Galway and we've had mosquitoes around here for years. I killed a couple in my bedroom last night, in fact. Mosquitoes have a very distinct shape so, once you know what one looks like, they're not easily mistaken for other insects. I've seen far more in the past couple of months than I've seen in previous years, though. It's being discussed on the Zoology forum.


  • #5
    Jenners!
    Registered Users Posts: 24 ✭Jenners!


    I live down south, but good to know if I end up in Malahide, quinine at the ready!

    I thought midge would be smaller, but what I have found look exactly like the image supplied via goggle/wikipedia.

    Thanks for your suggestions, I can sleep peacefully now :)


  • #6
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    gvn wrote: »
    I'm not so sure about that. I live in (east) Galway and we've had mosquitoes around here for years. I killed a couple in my bedroom last night, in fact. Mosquitoes have a very distinct shape so, once you know what one looks like, they're not easily mistaken for other insects. I've seen far more in the past couple of months than I've seen in previous years, though. It's being discussed on the Zoology forum.

    MURDERER :-) LOL Its a good day today as I have learned something new.
    Thanks


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Only place in Ireland with real mosquitoes is Malahide...
    ...If you not in Malahide they are Midges for sure.

    Completely untrue. You get mosquitos all over the place.


  • #8
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    locum-motion wrote: »
    Completely untrue. You get mosquitos all over the place.


    This is what Victor the moderator had to say.
    Mosquitos were introduced to Ireland by Lord Talbot (whatever possessed him to do it I don't know) and have been resident in Malahide for over a century. Any outside of Malahide are either tourists from here or abroad (a strong breeze can send them from Wales or Scotland in 1-2 hours or they can hitch a ride on humans or livestock).

    This is what I was getting at. Do "ALL" the Mosquitos "ALL OVER THE PLACE" bite ? Which species are they ?


  • #9
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    This is what Victor the moderator had to say.
    Mosquitos were introduced to Ireland by Lord Talbot (whatever possessed him to do it I don't know) and have been resident in Malahide for over a century. Any outside of Malahide are either tourists from here or abroad (a strong breeze can send them from Wales or Scotland in 1-2 hours or they can hitch a ride on humans or livestock).

    This is what I was getting at. Do "ALL" the Mosquitos "ALL OVER THE PLACE" bite ? Which species are they ?

    There are over 2,500 species of mosquito in the world.
    Approximately 460 of these are of the genus Anopheles. (This is the genus of mosquito that contains the species that are capable of transmitting human malaria.)
    This map, from the Centres for Disease Control in the USA, shows the distribution of various Anopheles species. It clearly shows that at A. barbirostris is found throughout almost all of Ireland. Now, while I don't think this species transmits Malaria, it is indubitably a mosquito, and it can transmit a different disease, lymphatic filariasis.

    Now, your original claim was that there are no "real mosquitos" in Ireland except in Malahide, and that everywhere else they are midges "for sure".
    Would you care to either rethink or provide a source to back up your claim?

    ps. Even if Talbot did introduce some non-native species of mosquito*; what makes you think that it hasn't either died out or spread all over the country? The likelihood of it both surviving and failing to spread is pretty slim.

    * And I'm not saying he didn't; I'm arguing that your specific claim was incorrect.


  • #10
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    By the way, have a look at this thread, which has been discussing whether or not we get mosquitos in Ireland for 8 years now.

    (Until this summer, it was in the Health Sciences section, but this year some bright spark moved it to Nature and Bird-watching.)

    Every year, it seems, someone comes on to Boards.ie and says

    "WTF! We've got mosquitos in Ireland now?",

    to which a million people respond "Don't be so surprised. We've always had them."

    The Malahide story got an airing on that thread too.


  • #11
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    This is what Victor the moderator had to say.
    Mosquitos were introduced to Ireland by Lord Talbot (whatever possessed him to do it I don't know) and have been resident in Malahide for over a century. Any outside of Malahide are either tourists from here or abroad (a strong breeze can send them from Wales or Scotland in 1-2 hours or they can hitch a ride on humans or livestock).

    This is what I was getting at. Do "ALL" the Mosquitos "ALL OVER THE PLACE" bite ? Which species are they ?

    Noel,
    It's customary when quoting people to either use quote tags or even quotation marks to show where the actual quote starts and ends. I'm just after noticing that your bit attributed to Victor actually came from the other thread that I directed you to, where it looked a little something like this
    Victor wrote: »
    Mosquitos were introduced to Ireland by Lord Talbot (whatever possessed him to do it I don't know) and have been resident in Malahide for over a century. Any outside of Malahide are either tourists fromt here or abroad (a strong breeze can send them from Wales or Scotland in 1-2 hours or they can hitch a ride on humans or livestock).


  • Advertisement
  • #12
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Thank you for the English lesson Mr Locum_motion I will remember this for the rest of my natural life.


  • #13
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Thank you for the English lesson Mr Locum_motion I will remember this for the rest of my natural life.

    It wasn't an English lesson. I was pointing out normal Boards.ie etiquette, since you're quite new to it.

    Now, can we return to the topic please.


  • #14
    locum-motion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Thank you for the English lesson Mr Locum_motion I will remember this for the rest of my natural life.

    I'll take that as a "No" to the question I asked, then, will I?







    In case you've forgotten, the question was:
    locum-motion wrote: »
    ...
    Would you care to either rethink or provide a source to back up your claim?...


  • #15
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    locum-motion wrote: »
    I'll take that as a "No" to the question I asked, then, will I?







    In case you've forgotten, the question was:

    In answer to your question mr loco_motion. """"""""""Would you care to either rethink or provide a source to back up your claim?..."""""""""""". I am going to re-think my, """""""""claim""""""""" ,and when I have, """""""""""""re-thought"""""""""" ,it enough and to my satisfaction I will make further comments. Please dont engage me again on this """"""""issue""""""" I will engage you when I am ready.
    Best Wishes


  • #16
    Tree
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,726 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tree


    Please be civillised when discussing threads in the Biology forum. It is a place for scientific discussion, not for personal attacks.

    Warning issued, further misbehaviour will not be tolerated. Thanks


  • #17
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Tree wrote: »
    Please be civillised when discussing threads in the Biology forum. It is a place for scientific discussion, not for personal attacks.

    Warning issued, further misbehaviour will not be tolerated. Thanks

    Thank you.


  • #18
    RGDATA!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,324 ✭✭✭RGDATA!


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Only place in Ireland with real mosquitoes is Malahide. I believe this species came over in some plants or trees that some lord or whatever imported a few hundred years back. It has evolved now into a unique species that is protected by law and is not found anywhere else in the world. I am told their bite is quite bad and they are very aggressive I will try to find out more from my friend who lives there. If you not in Malahide they are Midges for sure.


    If your story is true, how exactly are they being contained to only Malahide?


  • #19
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    RGDATA! wrote: »
    If your story is true, how exactly are they being contained to only Malahide?

    I think my information is incorrect all I gave was an opinion I am not qualified to give anything more than an opinion and what I had heard. Also with them supposedly "all over the place" they must be in other parts of Ireland too I dont know what the technical explanation for all over the place is but I think we have all established they are not just in Malahide, they may be a unique species in Malahide I dont know is anybody here actually qualified enough to explain the situation ? Or are we all just dealing with opinions and what we have heard or read ? My friend who is allergic to mosquitoes and lives in Malahide told me it was the only place in Ireland with Mosquitoes that bite and that they were a unique species thats what I repeated here trying to help the poster. It seems that having an opinion or being mistaken around here is a punishable offence for which I am deeply sorry.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Noel Kinsella
    Thank you for the English lesson Mr Locum_motion I will remember this for the rest of my natural life.


    "I'll take that as a "No" to the question I asked, then, will I ?"

    In case you've forgotten, the question was:
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by locum-motion
    ...
    "Would you care to either rethink or provide a source to back up your claim?..."

    Rather like being in a court case LOL were you lying then or are you lying now Mr Kinsella LOL
    I will not be commenting or trying to help anybody unless I have solid proof as to what I am saying from now on.


  • #20
    Amalgam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,026 ✭✭✭Amalgam


    Mosquitoes here in South Dublin, in a fairly chilly house. Recognisable by a set of legs 'kicked upwards' (they look inverted), back from the wings. Still alive as of this week. I've seen some hardy sods fluttering about up until December.

    Here's a handy link. They state 18 species, I've read elsewhere, twenty, some, if not most, host specific. (not necessarily human hosts)

    ---

    P. Ashe, J.P. O'Connor and R.J. Casey

    Irish Mosquitoes (Diptera - Culicidae)
    A checklist of the species and their known distribution

    Caution - Acrobat .pdf link

    http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/004240-0.pdf

    (the file is also attached, below: 004240-0.pdf)

    ---

    The paper dates from 1991, so, given how quickly invasive species can populate, through transport and climate changes, the landscape of what's out there might be different today.


  • #21
    Gambas
    Registered Users Posts: 846 ✭✭✭Gambas


    Amalgam wrote: »
    Mosquitoes here in South Dublin, in a fairly chilly house. Recognisable by a set of legs 'kicked upwards' (they look inverted), back from the wings. Still alive as of this week. I've seen some hardy sods fluttering about up until December.

    Here's a handy link. They state 18 species, I've read elsewhere, twenty, some, if not most, host specific. (not necessarily human hosts)

    ---

    P. Ashe, J.P. O'Connor and R.J. Casey

    Irish Mosquitoes (Diptera - Culicidae)
    A checklist of the species and their known distribution

    Caution - Acrobat .pdf link

    http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/004240-0.pdf

    (the file is also attached, below: 004240-0.pdf)

    ---

    The paper dates from 1991, so, given how quickly invasive species can populate, through transport and climate changes, the landscape of what's out there might be different today.

    I was just about to post that paper. Makes for great reading. Mozzies are very common here but they don't tend to be the type that give nasty bites. I've seen them indoors even as late as January.


  • Advertisement
  • #22
    Amalgam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,026 ✭✭✭Amalgam


    Gambas wrote: »
    I was just about to post that paper.

    Some interesting history listed: Malaria outbreaks in Cork, 1850s (page 14), the numbers are quite high, but there seems to have been contributory factors, returning soldiers (Crimean War) and extensive drainage work.


  • #23
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Now that is very very interesting
    Amalgam wrote: »
    Mosquitoes here in South Dublin, in a fairly chilly house. Recognisable by a set of legs 'kicked upwards' (they look inverted), back from the wings. Still alive as of this week. I've seen some hardy sods fluttering about up until December.

    Here's a handy link. They state 18 species, I've read elsewhere, twenty, some, if not most, host specific. (not necessarily human hosts)

    ---

    P. Ashe, J.P. O'Connor and R.J. Casey

    Irish Mosquitoes (Diptera - Culicidae)
    A checklist of the species and their known distribution

    Caution - Acrobat .pdf link

    http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/004240-0.pdf

    (the file is also attached, below: 004240-0.pdf)

    ---

    The paper dates from 1991, so, given how quickly invasive species can populate, through transport and climate changes, the landscape of what's out there might be different today.


  • #24
    K3lso
    Closed Accounts Posts: 244 ✭✭K3lso


    Theres tonnes of mosquitos in Ireland...strange to see them still around in October though but I killed loads this past week. I always make a note of killing these...whats the point leaving them to bite you during the night. Last year, a friend of mine got bitten during the night (I was in the same room but it didn't get me)...her leg blew up the next day. She was in hospital for ages and had to go on a course of anti-biotics.

    You can tell a mossie by the fluff they had on the front of their face....nasty little creatures...spawn of the divil I say.


  • #25
    Grayditch
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,347 ✭✭✭✭Grayditch


    The seem to be worse than usual in Malahide this year. Had to "assassinate" 10 of them in my girlfriend's house the other night. Nothing quite like the sound of them going by your ear at night. They sound like a jumbo jet in the distance, coming closer.


  • #26
    Cailin_Eile
    Registered Users Posts: 29 ✭Cailin_Eile


    We just studies the life cycle of the mosquito in college a couple of weeks ago. Our Animal Diversity lecturer said there were 16 different species of mosquito in Ireland. None of them spread Malaria though.


  • #27
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Just killed a mosquito.


  • #28
    Noel Kinsella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 407 ✭✭Noel Kinsella


    Tree wrote: »
    Please be civillised when discussing threads in the Biology forum. It is a place for scientific discussion, not for personal attacks.

    Warning issued, further misbehaviour will not be tolerated. Thanks

    As I am new here can someone please tell me how do the warnings work ? What is a yellow ? What happens if a poster gets two warnings etc ? I dont get it and could not find anything in the rules regarding this issue.
    Thank you guys


  • #29
    Tree
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,726 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tree


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    As I am new here can someone please tell me how do the warnings work ? What is a yellow ? What happens if a poster gets two warnings etc ? I dont get it and could not find anything in the rules regarding this issue.
    Thank you guys
    Noel: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_im_new_here#faq_bie_faq_im_new_here_warning

    Further discussion in this thread is limited to mosquitoes in Ireland. Thanks


  • #30
    noddyone2
    Registered Users Posts: 313 ✭✭noddyone2


    Noel Kinsella wrote: »
    Only place in Ireland with real mosquitoes is Malahide. I believe this species came over in some plants or trees that some lord or whatever imported a few hundred years back. It has evolved now into a unique species that is protected by law and is not found anywhere else in the world. I am told their bite is quite bad and they are very aggressive I will try to find out more from my friend who lives there. If you not in Malahide they are Midges for sure.
    Moskies are everywhere, they do bite, the ones you can hear whining at night indoors do not bite - I can't remember whether that is the male or female. The bite can turn itchy and raise a lump. If you have any standing water around in the summer ( buckets, barrels etc.) you may see little red wrigglers (sometimes called bloodworms) rise to the surface and then submerge, then rise again. These are the larvae of moskies. You can kill them with a little oil, paraffin etc. on the surface of the water. It forms a skin and they cannot breathe.


  • Advertisement
  • #31
    Forest Fire
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 115 ✭✭Forest Fire


    Apparently there are 16 species of mosquito in Ireland. Google Mosquito Ireland and you will find out. May save on embarrassing postings and twatty responses.


  • #32
    amadangomor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,148 ✭✭✭amadangomor


    Got eaten alive last year with them here in Leixlip,thought the cold winter would have killed them off but they've been back about 3 weeks or so,just saw a few and got the little blighters and no bites yet!


  • #33
    Dan w
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭Dan w


    There is at least 20 different species of Mosquitos in Ireland including midges.. We have always had them...


  • #34
    countrynosebag
    Registered Users Posts: 147 ✭✭countrynosebag


    I would like to know about this oil or whatever on top of water barrels. Is this then safe for dog to drink from and parables such as strawberries, tomatoes etc to have their water from?


  • #35
    dRNk SAnTA
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 777 ✭✭✭dRNk SAnTA


    I never saw a mosquito in my life in Ireland before moving into Temple Bar for the summer. We tend to leave our window open and I killed 1 huge mosquito today and two in a single day a couple of weeks ago.

    They were all filled with my blood, and I currently have the bite marks on my face to show for it.


  • #36
    jaffusmax
    Registered Users Posts: 1,602 ✭✭✭jaffusmax


    Finally caught and annihilated this little bugger! Every night with the lights off when I was using my ipad it would buzz around me and it has been biting everyone in the house! Never taught I would see a mosquito in Dundalk!

    kybs.jpg


  • Advertisement
  • #37
    Ardillaun
    Registered Users Posts: 2,558 ✭✭✭Ardillaun


    I was never aware of them when I lived in Ireland. Canada on the other hand is ALIVE with the buggers in summer. Myself and the dog were eaten tonight.


  • #38
    2 stroke
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,921 ✭✭✭2 stroke


    countrynosebag wrote: »
    I would like to know about this oil or whatever on top of water barrels. Is this then safe for dog to drink from and parables such as strawberries, tomatoes etc to have their water from?

    Don't know about oil but I've heard of poeple in other countries keeping goldfish in their rainwater barrels.


  • #39
    feargale
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,636 ✭✭✭feargale


    locum-motion wrote: »
    There are over 2,500 species of mosquito in the world.
    Approximately 460 of these are of the genus Anopheles. (This is the genus of mosquito that contains the species that are capable of transmitting human malaria.This map, from the Centres for Disease Control in the USA, shows the distribution of various Anopheles species. It clearly shows that at A. barbirostris is found throughout almost all of Ireland. Now, while I don't think this species transmits Malaria, it is indubitably a mosquito, and it can transmit a different disease, lymphatic filariasisNow, your original claim was that there are no "real mosquitos" in Ireland except in Malahide, and that everywhere else they are midges "for sure".Would you care to either rethink or provide a source to back up your claim?
    ps. Even if Talbot did introduce some non-native species of mosquito*; what makes you think that it hasn't either died out or spread all over the country? The likelihood of it both surviving and failing to spread is pretty slim.* And I'm not saying he didn't; I'm arguing that your specific claim was incorrect.

    I find this a most interesting thread. But why, so often in boards, can people not quietly and politely impart information without personal attacks and the " I know more than you" insinuation? Has it something to do with an irresistable impulse to prove oneself an alpha human being? One can protest too much. Ffs, this isn't even a politics or a religion thread.


  • #40
    Tree
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,726 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tree


    feargale wrote: »
    I find this a most interesting thread. But why, so often in boards, can people not quietly and politely impart information without personal attacks and the " I know more than you" insinuation? Has it something to do with an irresistable impulse to prove oneself an alpha human being? One can protest too much. Ffs, this isn't even a politics or a religion thread.

    I don't see how that post could have been construed as a personal attack, please don't drag personality into this, stick to facts.


  • #41
    donagh_1
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭donagh_1


    Hi all.

    I know this thread is very old. I thought I would give my experience of the mosquitos in Malahide.

    It was either in the summer of 1986 or 1987. There were mosquitoes all over Swords and Donabate.

    There was a few articles at the time saying that these mosquitoes came from a "Well in Malahide".

    All I know was they were unbelieveably aggressive. And the funny thing about them was they were as deadly during the day as they were at night.

    I remember playing football in Fingallians one afternoon and coming home with about 20 bites on my arms and legs.

    Personally I never recall ever been bitten by a mosquito since then in North county Dublin. Only midges in Donegal.



  • Advertisement
  • #42
    DownByTheGarden
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,786 ✭✭✭DownByTheGarden


    You know they are Mossies when you hear that very high pitched buzzing when you are trying to sleep and there is one in the room. Then you have to spend ages hunting down the little bstard before you can get to sleep. I have had this in Ireland. Not nearly as often as on the continent but the odd time. They are definitely here.



  • #43
    Man Vs ManUre
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,359 ✭✭✭Man Vs ManUre


    Mosquitoes are very welcome in Ireland. They bring diversity and enrich our lives with their culture and beliefs. Their cuisine may be a bit different to ours but you have to appreciate their culinary methods. Their traditional sounds vibrate through the night air and will no doubt inspire our next generation U2, Cranberries and Bewitched. Their friendly and affectionate nature and willingness to mingle with us all will improve our society and leave a positive mark for generations to come.



Advertisement