VERO BEACH, Fla. – Scientists at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are one step closer to learning the factors that ultimately lead to characteristic differences in mosquito offspring – a key takeaway in the make-up of mosquito species and a critical finding in the continued research of mosquito-borne illnesses. “There are greater than 3,000 mosquito species around the world, and they are the most dangerous animal on the planet,” said Barry Alto, a UF/IFAS associate professor of entomology at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory and a co-author on a new study. “The reason is because they cause human illnesses and deaths attributable to the pathogens they transmit ranging from malaria and filarial parasites to viruses.”