Raising Scientific and Environmental Awareness in the Community through Citizen Science

About the Project

The Invasive Mosquito Project is aimed at monitoring invasive container-inhabiting mosquito species across the United States. By doing this monitoring, we can determine where the invasive mosquito species, as well as native species, are distributed across the U.S. and define at-risk human and animal populations based on this distribution. This citizen science project provides students, teachers, and anyone interested the opportunity to collect real data and contribute to a national mosquito species distribution study. This project not only gives individuals an opportunity to explore and collect around their house, but also raises awareness of diseases that can be transmitted by mosquitoes, and how they can make an effort to protect themselves, communities, and pets from illness.

Why

Recent disease outbreaks of mosquito transmitted pathogens (West Nile, eastern equine encephalitis, dengue, and chikungunya) demonstrate the need to educate children and adults about the public health risks posed by mosquitoes. By participating in this project, individuals will learn how to protect themselves, their family and pets from mosquito transmitted pathogens. And at the same time they will learn valuable skills such as firsthand experience in gathering and recording scientific data.