Scientists use drones to release millions of specialized mosquitoes for crucial task in Hawaiʻi: 'Incompatible insect technique'

In an effort to conserve the beloved honeycreeper population, scientists are releasing millions of lab-reared mosquitoes throughout Hawaiʻi.

"Birds, Not Mosquitoes" is a partnership between state, federal, private, and nonprofit organizations that spearheads the initiative to save the local songbird population.

The Hawaiian islands were once home to more than 50 species of honeycreepers, but due to rampant avian malaria spread by mosquitoes, that number has diminished to just 17, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

The goal of the project is to disrupt the reproduction cycle of this invasive mosquito species through the "incompatible insect technique."

Genetically modified, non-biting male mosquitoes carry a bacteria strain into the ecosystem that interferes with reproduction, so when they mate, the resulting eggs don't hatch. With fewer hatching eggs, the mosquito population has less opportunity to infect birds.

Invasive mosquito species have affected habitats all over the world due to trade routes, which can bring in foreign insects from far reaches of the world.

In Hawaiʻi, a whaling ship in 1826 brought the pests to the islands, according to the National Park Service. Eight species of mosquitoes currently inhabit the area, though scientists are most concerned about the transmission habits of southern house mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus) and Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) specifically.

As our climate continues to overheat, these mosquito populations grow because they thrive in warmer, humid climates that this phenomenon promotes. In high-heat environments, one study even found these pests are evolving to adapt to rising temperatures.

Even for isolated ecosystems like the ones on each of Hawaiʻi's islands, one study discovered that mosquitoes can travel up to 100 miles in one night through high-altitude movement.

Strategies like this reproduction disruption are crucial to honeycreeper populations on all islands to cut mosquitoes' disease transmission off at the knees.

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Since November 2023, the project has released more than 40 million mosquitoes throughout Maui and Kauaʻi. Early drops involved helicopters, but recently, they've started employing drones.

This alternative method is not only safer by distributing the bugs without humans on board, but it also offers flexibility — drones can quickly deploy to avoid Hawaiʻi's unpredictable weather.

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