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you were able to remove a single species out of the ecological chain without dire consequences...
Which would it be?

For me, it would most surely be the mosquito. I hate the damned things. I don't get bitten that much, and when I do the itch of the bites doesn't linger long.. it is that peevish, high-pitched whine right by your ear, just as you are drifting off to sleep. And, of course, the little pests vanish almost as soon as you flick on the light.

It happened last night. It is really hot here by West Coast standards and we are sleeping with all the windows open... I'd just started to approach that drowsy partially awake stage (despite the clinging heat)... and then I heard it.... that immediately detectable whine...Grrrr... I'm prone to insomnia as it is, I don't need mosquitoes exacerbating the problem..

So, anyway, there is my candidate for a species that doesn't need to exist

btw, to clarify, I'm not seriously advocating the annihilation of any species, this is just for joking around

Moths...Somehow they keep flying in here..flitting around in the corner of my eye or landing on me...and fly spray doesn't seem to work on them.

If you mean species as in animal, then it would have to be spiders, hate those bloody things.

However, if your more into the "single existance of life that is different from something else" type deal, then I would have to say Donald Trump, hate those bloody things.

I would really like to get rid of gadfly, They're so annoying, always buzzing around while you're trying to do something.

If I had my druthers, the common housefly would hit the road. Those blasted things can breed anywhere (most flies specialize in their breeding habits, but houseflies can breed in anything from garbage to rotting clumps of dead grass on your lawn). They're the vectors of quite a few illnesses, are annoying in the extreme, and possess yucky personal habits.

I'd go with DW's suggestion (to keep in mind though that "mosquitoes" covers a whole range of specieses), with the added reason that some of those little buggers spread malaria (and some other nasty diseases).

[QUOTE=Lestat]I'd go with DW's suggestion (to keep in mind though that "mosquitoes" covers a whole range of specieses), with the added reason that some of those little buggers spread malaria (and some other nasty diseases).[/QUOTE]

Agreed. One of the biggest causes of death in the world...

Wasps. I don't care that they're useful and all that, when I drink a soda I don't want to share it with some buzzing insect. Go buy your own!

[QUOTE=dragon wench]you were able to remove a single species out of the ecological chain without dire consequences...
Which would it be? [/QUOTE]
Any species... well, the most annoying, prevalent species would be my target. Bye bye, humans.

Considering the wholesale changes to the planet that have been caused by humanity over the relatatively short period of its existence, I'm inclined to opt for its removal. Some change is understandable, but the rapacity for resources combined with the perceived need to reproduce frequently has led to destruction on a scale any other species would admire--if it knew how to.

Barring that, I suppose I could settle for the removal of spiders. Nasty things, especially the hairy, fast-moving ones. Though I have to say, the aggressive, large red ants of semi-tropical and tropical zones may not look as bad, but for attitude they easily surpass spiders in sheer nuisance value.

I think that I would have to go for snakes. I have the most unreasonable fear of them (I can't even stand to see them on TV so I can't watch Animal Planet since they sneak the buggers on at the worst possible times) and want them all gone.

But mosquitoes and flies do deserve (dis)honorable mentions.

Fleas.

I hate those things.

I'd have to go for flies. I can live with spiders, even though I don't like them, cos they are harmless (at least in this country), we don't really have much of a mosquito problem either. But flies are just plain annoying. They dive bomb at you and continue to try and land on your food no matter how many times you swat them away - they just never give up.

I'd have to go with single celled amoebas, disgusting little amorphorous protozoas that they are. Or maybe whales, all bloated and fat, polluting our waters with their filth.

I would get rid of wasps, yellow jackets, and snakes. I hate and fear them all. Honey bees can exist, though, because the world needs honey. And spiders can stay, too, so that the mosquitos can be trapped in their webs.

@DW--Buy some window screens! :speech:

Geez, so many people want to get rid of insects (kindly don't assume I'm adding spiders to that term). They help make the world go round.

lol Zelgadis, didn't know single-celled amoebas were such a threat.

[QUOTE=shana]@DW--Buy some window screens! :speech: [/QUOTE]

We may at some point. But, mosquitos and serious summer heat are not normally a common concern out here. I mean, as an example.... air conditioning in private residences (and even some businesses) is not the norm.

@Chim,
well a lot of insects are irritating, especially mosquitos! Besides, as I said in my initial post, I'm not seriously advocating the removal of any species, I don't think anyone is

I cannot imagine the ability to exist without air conditioning!!

And, Chim, amoebas are fine, until you eat one! Not fun!!

DW: we're not?! :speech:

shana: neither can I. But then, I live in in south Florida, where if it's not blistering hot, it's raining. And my car's a/c broke months ago and costs more than the car's worth to repair... so I have to learn how to do without a/c while driving. In the height of summer. Not fun.