BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ: AS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FALLS, MOSQUITO POPULATION WILL RISE

Heidi Dodson, left, and Jim Robins showed the equipment used to trap mosquitos for study.

These two mosquitos are part of the collection of Dr. Christina Frazier.

Gorgeous is the last word one would use to describe mosquitoes, but that's the word Dr. Christina Frazier uses.

And, she knows; she's studied mosquitoes and mosquito-borne viruses for more than 20 years.

Mosquitoes under a microscope really are gorgeous," said Frazier, a Cornell graduate, who has her doctorate from Yale.

A biology professor at Southeast, Frazier said there are basically two varieties of mosquitoes -- the pest and the Aedes vexans.

The pest mosquitoes "just bug you to death. No pun intended," Frazier said. They normally don't carry disease.

But, the Aedes vexans are more than pests.

"They are really nasty biters," Frazier said. "These carry dog heart worm."

While mosquitoes can carry diseases, usually viruses, she said there is no cause for alarm.

"The viruses have to be present for the mosquitoes to transport them," she said.

Birds initially transport the viruses, and mosquitoes get the viruses from the birds, she said.

Frazier didn't know if viruses were here, but she didn't think there was cause for worry.

Only female mosquitoes bite.

They need the nutrients from the human being's blood to lay their eggs, Frazier said, adding: "When you see that mosquito on your hand, it's either motherhood or mosquito birth control."

With the Mississippi River rising, the mosquito population will be on the rise soon.

"There will be a time lag before we see a large increase in the number of mosquitoes," Frazier said.

The water will go down first and then the mosquito population will go up.

There are other reasons for the higher mosquito population.

"In the flood of '93, mosquitoes laid their eggs at the waters edge," Frazier said. "They have waited to get wetted again, and with the rising waters, they have."

Frazier said the mild winter and the wet spring will also be a factor in the larger numbers.

County health official Sharlotte Craig said the state hasn't planned to spray for the mosquitoes, as far as she knows.

Besides, Craig said, it wouldn't necessarily be much help anyway.

"It just kills the adults, not the larvae," she said. "It would just be a band-aid solution."

There are things people can do to reduce the number of mosquitoes in their area.

"Don't give mosquitoes places to breed," Frazier said. They breed in puddles and containers -- old pots and pans with water in them.

People could stay inside during dusk hours, the prime time for mosquitoes.

"If you aren't out there, they can't bite you," Frazier said.

Be patient about spraying, because too much spraying isn't a good thing.

It knocks down the numbers initially, but the survivors build up a resistance, she said.

All mosquitoes don't bite human beings; some find other animals inviting, she said.

"There are a lot of mosquitoes that look at humans and say 'No thank you,'" she said.