Hawaiian honeycreepers are disappearing at an alarming rate. Once numbering 55-60 different species across the Hawaiian islands, only 17 remain today. The crisis has reached a critical point – the ‘Akikiki (Kauaʻi creeper) is now functionally extinct in the wild with just one bird remaining, down from 450 in 2018. Other species like the ‘akeke’e have fewer than 100 birds left, while the Kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill) population has dwindled to less than 150 individuals. The main culprit? A deadly disease called avian malaria, spread by non-native mosquitoes that were introduced to Hawaii around 1826. For generations, honeycreepers survived by living … Continue reading Drones Deploy Millions of Mosquitoes with “Birth Control” Bacteria to Save Hawaii’s Last 17 Bird Species