AUSTIN, Texas — If you thought this triple-digit heat was bad, mosquitos might have found it worse.
A new study by Climate Central found as our climate warms, many places are becoming more hospitable to mosquitoes. Mosquitos thrive in warmer and humid places. But while mosquitos have become active in other areas, here in Central Texas, the report says we've seen fewer "mosquito days."
"It's hard to live in really hot climates, right? And insects are no different," said Sonja Swiger with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. "Their body temperature is related to the temperatures outside. But if it's really hot, then they dry out fast, too, because they still need to maintain moisture inside themselves."
While Swiger didn't conduct the research in the study, she said the heat does impact mosquitoes immensely.
"What we can't say for sure is … will there be fewer mosquitoes or will they just find another location to go live? Somewhere else to hide out when it is these extreme temperatures," she said.
She predicts mosquitos are hiding when it's so hot outside, and when the days get cooler is when we usually see a higher concentration of mosquitos.
While she doesn't expect this heat to impact reproduction numbers right now, she does say it could affect them down the line.
"The heat can also play a role … to the larva," Swiger said. "If the water sources are getting too hot, it would kind of … boil them up. So, there are going to be those kinds of adverse reactions. I don't know if we're going to see that right now or if that's something that's in the future."
Swiger said it's hard to predict what the weather will be like in the months to come. However, if extremely hot temperatures persist, mosquitos might not survive.