There have been several stories recently about genetically modified mosquitoes, bred for the purpose of fighting diseases like malaria and dengue fever. These are exciting, sophisticated techniques, but in a new piece for Slate, I argue that they’re being let down by the fact that we still don’t know a lot about basic mosquito biology, like thier mating behaviour. Ecology may not be as sexy as tinkering with genes, but history teaches us that it’s vital if these approaches are to work.

Here’s a taster; head to Slate for more.

But all of these recent attempts to turn mosquitoes into malaria- and dengue-killing machines have something in common: The modified mosquitoes need to have lots of sex to spread their altered genes through the wild population. They must live long enough to become sexually active, and they have to compete successfully for mates with their wild peers. And that is a problem, because we still know surprisingly little about the behavior and ecology of mosquitoes, especially the males. How far do they travel? What separates the Casanovas from the sexual failures. What affects their odds of survival in the wild? How should you breed the growing mosquitoes to make them sexier? Big question marks hang over these seemingly straightforward questions.