On what ground is it claimed that in 2-3 months time mosquito menace will come under control?
Ans. At all places where GEM Tech was implemented there was significant reduction in the problem. When the time limit repeated at several places it was felt that there must be a scientific reason behind it. Counting the larvae destroyed every week revealed that it’s around 100 per week. So in 2-3 months (8-12 weeks) time reduction is 800-1200. Out of it half (50) is likely to be males. So the no. of female mosquitoes being destroyed in that period came down to 400-600. This no. in comparison to the lakhs that spread in an area is obviously insignificant. An analysis of the facts related to its reproduction gave some insight. Egg hatches in 2-3 days, larva phase lasts 3-14 days & pupa phase takes 2-7 days. That means egg takes 7-24 days to mature into mosquito. In another 7 days it starts laying eggs. So in 14-31 days an egg produces another egg. That is, even in the most unfavourable condition a new generation of mosquito gets produced in a month. They produce 100 to 300 eggs (species
