null

Observer News

GLOBE Breadcrumb

The Mosquito’s Story and You

03/11/2025

A two-toned blue banner in which the lower, darker shade of blue resembles water and the lighter upper blue resembles the sky. Outlines of six mosquito larvae are in the lower part of the banner. An adult mosquito is in the top of the banner. Text reads Mosquito Habitat Mapper.

As winter gives way to spring in the Northern Hemisphere, mosquitoes will start to emerge. We ask GLOBE volunteers everywhere to track the presence of mosquito larvae in standing water to identify the start of the season in your community. By doing so during the month of April (citizen science month), you can also contribute to SciStarter’s Million Acts of Science. SciStarter is a citizen science clearinghouse that matches volunteers with citizen science projects in their area, including GLOBE. This blog was originally published by SciStarter on 25 February 2025. 

Every good story has many chapters. In the case of mosquitoes, it is about the mosquito itself—its life cycle, its quest for survival, and its relentless search for a blood meal. Then there is the story about the habitats these tiny creatures have evolved to exploit, often in plain sight. 

By collecting data with the Mosquito Habitat Mapper in the GLOBE Observer app, citizen scientists like you can play a pivotal role in understanding and mitigating the risks mosquitoes pose. By learning about their life cycle and habitats, you can help write a new chapter in this story—one where human ingenuity triumphs over one of nature’s deadliest creatures.

The Mosquito Life Cycle: A Tale of Transformation

Mosquitoes are more than just pests; they are highly adapted survivors. They begin their lives in water, where eggs hatch into larvae and eventually mature into pupae before emerging as adults. This aquatic phase is critical for their development, and standing water—whether in natural settings like ponds or artificial containers like old tires—becomes their nursery. Female mosquitoes, driven by the need for protein to develop their eggs, seek out blood meals from humans and animals alike. 

A three-panel drawing depicting three different genera of mosquitoes in larva form. The first panel (left) shows a larva floating horizontally on the surface of water. Text reads Anopheles, rests parallel to water surface. The center panel shows a mosquito larva resting vertical to the water surface with its head down. Text reads Aedes, rests vertically or at a slight angle to water surface. The third panel (right) shows a mosquito larva resting at an approximate 45-degree angle to the water surface with its head down. Text reads Culex, rests at angle to water surface.

The Mosquito Habitat Mapper steps you through larva identification—the larvae of three medically important genera each rest at the water surface in different positions.

 

Once they become adults, female mosquitoes embark on a quest for survival that directly impacts human health. Highly motivated by the need for protein to develop their eggs, females seek out blood meals from humans and animals. This process makes them a vector, or transmitter, for diseases such as malaria, dengue, Zika, West Nile Virus, and yellow fever.

Most of the roughly 3,700 mosquito species are harmless. However, three genera of mosquitoes include many mosquito species capable of transmitting diseases to humans: Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex. Adapted to living in and around humans, many species use water found in human-made containers as breeding sites. Citizen scientists are critical detectives who can seek out and remove breeding sites from use in and around where people live and reduce the number of biting mosquitoes in their communities.

Understanding this life cycle is crucial because it highlights the importance of targeting mosquito breeding habitats, especially artificial containers. To reduce the number of mosquitoes that cause diseases in humans, we need to eliminate the places where young mosquitoes become biting adults. Remember, a biting mosquito can transmit disease-causing viruses or parasites in its saliva. This is where the Mosquito Habitat Mapper comes in. 

Reducing Artificial Habitats with Mosquito Habitat Mapper

GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper connects directly to artificial and natural mosquito breeding habitats by enabling users to document and report these sites through the app. For artificial containers like discarded tires, buckets, or flower pots, the tool allows citizen scientists to identify and geolocate these water-holding objects, assess for mosquito larvae, and even take action by eliminating the standing water to prevent further breeding. 

For natural habitats such as ponds, marshes, or tree holes, the app guides users in observing and recording these environments, providing valuable ground-based data that complements satellite observations. By contributing this information, users help scientists better understand mosquito distribution patterns and support community-level efforts to mitigate mosquito-borne disease risks.

Why Mosquito Habitats – and Your Observations of Them - Matter

Mosquitoes have earned their reputation as “the world’s deadliest animal.” They kill millions annually through diseases like malaria (responsible for approximately 600,000 deaths each year), dengue (affecting up to 390 million people annually), and Zika virus outbreaks that have had devastating impacts on communities worldwide. 


Left: The GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper empowers individuals to locate and document active mosquito breeding sites (accessible PDF). Right: This woman is sampling puddled water from a tire to see if it contains mosquito larvae. Tires are an ideal habitat for mosquito larvae.  

A panel of two photos showing the material needed to identify mosquito larvae using GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper. The left photo shows a plate with a small amount of water pooled on it. Black specks in the water are mosquito larvae. The plate also holds a pipette, 4 toothpicks, and a microscope lens that can be clipped to a cell phone camera. To the top left of the plate are two small jars that hold water and mosquito larvae. One jar is open. A phone sits to the left of the plate. The GLOBE Observer app is open with the Mosquito Habitat Mapper home page on the screen. The right photo shows the same plate with water and mosquito larvae and the sample jars. In this photo, the microscope is clipped to the phone, which is being held over the plate. The screen of the phone shows a magnified mosquito larvae.
An optional step in GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper is using a clip-on magnifier to photograph larvae.

The process is simple yet impactful:

  1. Locate Standing Water: Identify areas where water collects—flowerpots, gutters, toys left outside, puddles, or even something as small as a bottle cap. Use the app to select the habitat type.

  2. Observe and Report: Use the app to record details about the habitat, including whether mosquito larvae are present. Mosquito larvae are non-threatening to humans and often serve as a meal for dragonfly larvae, frogs, and fish. 

  3. Take Action: Whenever possible, eliminate the breeding site by emptying or covering the water source. 

Your observations contribute to a global database scientists use to understand mosquito populations better and predict outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases. This partnership between citizen scientists and researchers bridges critical data gaps that satellite imagery alone cannot address. 

Connect your GLOBE Observer account with your SciStarter account, and you can track your contributions on your SciStarter dashboard—essentially, you can see the impact of your data collection!

See a short video on connecting your SciStarter account to GLOBE Observer, and then, explore the SciStarter project page for GLOBE Mosquito.

Connecting Local Observations to Global Science

A photo of a woman with long, black hair. She is smiling and wearing a blue blouse and suit jacket. Dr. Di Yang, a researcher at the University of Florida, is at the forefront of integrating citizen science with advanced Earth system modeling to better understand and predict mosquito-borne disease risks in a changing climate. As the principal investigator for the NASA-funded project “Forecasting Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk in a Changing Climate: Integrating GLOBE Citizen Science and NASA Earth System Modeling,” Dr. Yang’s work exemplifies how local observations can enhance global research. 

Two Stories Converge: A Healthier Future for All

With tools like NASA’s GLOBE Observer in your hands, you’re not just observing—you are taking action to reduce the global burden of mosquito-borne diseases. So why not start today? Together, we can unravel these two stories—mosquitoes’ survival versus ours—and create a healthier future for everyone.

a photo composite showing 120 small thumbnail photos of mosquito larvae taken through a clip-on microscope.

This image, selected as Biomedical Picture of the Day, shows mosquito larvae photos submitted by citizen scientists during the Mosquito Habitat Photo Challenge, July-August, 2021. Collage created by Kristen Weaver.

How Can You Get Involved? 

  1. Connect your GLOBE Observer account to your SciStarter Account. We recommend you watch a video showing how to do this

  2. Start observing by looking for places where water has collected. Then, use the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper to describe the site and document whether mosquito larvae are present. The app walks you through the steps.

  3. Get to know the features of the GLOBE Observer App, including how to see your past observations and those of your friends. 

Optional steps: 

  • If mosquito larvae are present, collect a water sample and photograph using a clip-on magnifying lens.

  • When you take a Mosquito Habitat observation, also take and submit an observation using the GLOBE Observer Land Cover tool. This is important scientific information that shows the broader landscape of where mosquitoes breed.

  • Learn more at on the GLOBE website.

  • Join the GLOBE Mission Mosquito Campaign by participating in our monthly webinars.

If you connect your GLOBE account to SciStarter, all GLOBE Observer observations taken during April will count toward the Million Acts of Science.


 

Return to News Listing

Comments

News Sidebar

A graphic showing silhouettes of two people taking observations with their phones. They are standing between water with mosquito larvae in it, grass, trees, and clouds, which represent the tools within the GLOBE Observer app.

View more GLOBE Observer news here.