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US researchers push front lines of mosquito control as planet warms

A colony of sabethes cyaneus mosquitoes feed on the blood of Ella Branham, a seasonal vector control technician at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Aug 28, 2023. [AP Photo]

It's lunchtime at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District and a colony of sabethes cyaneus - also known as the paddle-legged beauty for its feathery appendages and iridescent coloring - find their way to Ella Branham.

"They're not very aggressive and they're kind of picky eaters," said Branham, a technician, as she exhaled into a glass tank to attract the insects to the carbon dioxide in her breath. "So I'll be feeding them with my arm."

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