Midge keeps invasive mosquito in check, aiding native mosquitoes

		AUDIO: Barry Alto describes his research on the interactions of predators and prey. This is the audio for an audio slide show. Click here for more information.

In a drama played out across the southeastern U.S. in containers as small as a coffee cup, native and invasive mosquito larvae compete for resources and try to avoid getting eaten. One of the invasive mosquitoes, the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), can carry dengue fever, a viral disease that sickens 50 to 100 million people a year in the tropics, so this seemingly inconsequential struggle has implications for human health.