I was astonished by the hubris of the mosquito experts you interviewed who believe that the ecological consequences of an extinction would be minor, nil or quickly compensated (Nature 466, 432–434; 2010). Leaving aside the ethical dilemma and immense technological challenge of extinguishing even one of the many thousands of species of mosquito, our meagre understanding of mosquito biology cannot justify this conclusion.

Information on the population dynamics and community ecology of almost all species of mosquito is scant and based on only a few aspects of their biology. Something is known about the community ecology of some mosquito larvae in microcosms, such as the habitats provided by Nepenthes and Sarracenia pitcher plants, but for those same species almost nothing is known about the community ecology of the eggs, pupae and adults, or their wider ecological role. Even for mosquitoes in these easily managed habitats, the temporal and geographical scales over which an 'extinction experiment' would have to be conducted make it impracticable.

Instead of being diverted to unattainable goals such as extinction, resources should be directed at gaining a fundamental understanding of the population and community ecology of critically important mosquito species.