GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper is an app-based tool that will help you document mosquito habitats and identify mosquito types. Once you have downloaded the app and created an account, the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool will guide you through the observation process. The main required element is to look for a possible mosquito breeding habitat (standing water or somewhere water could collect), and report if you see any mosquito larvae in the water. Optionally, you can sample and count the larvae and try to identify the mosquito type, both of which will require additional equipment. Even a basic observation without optional elements is valuable! If possible, we also ask you to eliminate the mosquito breeding habitat.
Your observations are important because mosquitoes are a serious health risk: millions of people die each year from mosquito-borne disease. While climate and weather conditions can suggest to scientists where to expect spikes in mosquito populations during the year, we don’t know for sure what is happening unless we make observations on the ground. By reporting possible mosquito habitats through the app, GLOBE Observers are able to augment broad scale satellite-based research with highly targeted local ground-based observations.
New and interested users are encouraged to go to SciStarter.org/NASA-GLOBE to learn more and receive step-by-step instructions. You can visit https://observer.globe.gov to learn more about GLOBE Observer and the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool. For educators, the main GLOBE Program can be found at http://www.globe.gov.
Children under the age of 13 should be supervised by an adult when using the app. Always follow guidelines from your local officials, and only participate in GLOBE activities or use the GLOBE Observer app if it is safe to do so.
This project is part of a kit (https://scistarter.org/citizen-science-kit-mapping-mosquito-habitats) that may be available at your local library (https://scistarter.org/library-locations)!