Hawaii’s forests are growing eerily quiet as the islands’ unique birds, known as honeycreeper, rapidly disappear. The scarlet honeycreeper, or ‘i’iwi, with its fiery red plumage and melodic song, was once a common sight.
But now, this beautiful bird is on the brink of extinction, and an unlikely hero may be its last hope: more mosquitoes.
A Paradise Lost
When Polynesians first arrived in Hawaii around 400 AD, they found a lush paradise teeming with colorful birds found nowhere else on Earth. Over 50 species of honeycreepers evolved on the isolated islands, each with a specialized beak to feed on different foods like nectar, insects, and even snails.
The ‘i’iwi was among the most common native birds across the Hawaiian islands. Its bright scarlet body, black wings and tail, and long curved peach-colored bill made it one of the most recognizable honeycreepers. Native Hawaiians valued the bird for its vivid feathers, often using them to adorn elaborate feathered cloaks and helmets for royalty.
But in the 1800s, everything changed. Mosquitoes hitched a ride on European and American ships, carrying with them avian malaria and pox. The honeycreepers, having evolved without these diseases, had no natural defenses. Today, only 17 honeycreeper species remain, and the scarlet honeycreeper is one of the most critically endangered.(ref)
The Mosquito Menace
A single mosquito bite can spell doom for a scarlet honeycreeper. With no immunity, the birds quickly succumb to avian malaria, which kills 95% of infected individuals. Studies show 90% of ‘i’iwi die from a single bite of a malaria-infected mosquito.
As climate change pushes temperatures higher, mosquitoes are invading the honeycreepers’ last mountain refuges above 4,000 feet. Warming allows mosquitoes to survive at higher elevations, continuously shrinking the birds’ disease-free habitat.
Fighting Mosquitoes with Mosquitoes
In a desperate attempt to save the scarlet honeycreeper and other native birds, conservationists are turning to an unlikely ally: more mosquitoes. But these aren’t ordinary mosquitoes – they’re males infected with a special bacteria called Wolbachia. (ref)
When these modified males mate with wild females, their offspring never hatch. It’s a form of mosquito birth control that has successfully reduced mosquito populations in places like China and Mexico. Now, the Birds Not Mosquitoes project is using helicopters to release millions of these male mosquitoes into Hawaii’s forests each week.
A Race against Time
Will this innovative strategy be enough to save the scarlet honeycreeper and its fellow forest birds? Only time will tell. Researchers are closely monitoring mosquito populations and bird health to gauge the project’s success.
Meanwhile, scarlet honeycreepers continue to sing their hearts out in the dwindling patches of disease-free forest. With each passing year, their songs grow fainter. The Kauai population has plummeted by 92% in recent decades, with similar declines on other islands.(ref)
But conservationists refuse to give up hope. Efforts are underway to restore native forests, control invasive predators, and captively breed birds as a safeguard. In 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the ‘i’iwi as threatened under the Endangered Species Act to spur greater protections.
“The only thing that’s more tragic is if they went extinct and we didn’t try,” Chris Warren, forest bird program coordinator at Haleakalā National Park in Maui, says. “You can’t not try.”
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Davin is a jack-of-all-trades but has professional training and experience in various home and garden subjects. He leans on other experts when needed and edits and fact-checks all articles.