New York Times: The Mosquitoes Are Coming for Us
Timothy C. Winegard, author of “The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator”

“…Mosquitoes are our apex predator … Flying solo, the mosquito does not directly harm anyone. It is the diseases she transmits that cause an endless barrage of death. Yet without her, these pathogens could not be vectored to humans. … The mosquito and her diseases have accompanied [people] around the world and have been far more lethal than any manufactured weapons or inventions. … Today, roughly four billion people are at risk from mosquito-borne diseases. … [P]erhaps now, as in the past, we are underestimating the mosquito. She evolved to endure global showers of the eradication chemical DDT and may genetically outflank Crispr as well. History has shown the mosquito to be a dogged survivor. … Across the ages, we have been locked in a life-or-death struggle for survival with the not-so-simple mosquito. Historically, we did not stand a chance” (7/27).

A review of the book from which this essay is adapted is available from the New Yorker.