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Drones Deliver Millions of Wolbachia Mosquitoes to Curb Avian Malaria Threat to Honeycreepers

Biodegradable pods released across Maui and Kauai carry non-biting males engineered to disrupt breeding, with scientists set to measure wild mosquito declines over the next year.

Honeycreepers have retreated to mountainous areas on islands such as Kauai.
The kiwikiu (pictured), a small Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to Maui, is critically endangered. Populations of it and other honeycreeper species on the islands have been wiped out by avian malaria, a disease spread by mosquitoes which the birds have no resistance to.
An estimated 100 of the ʻakekeʻe remain in the wild, but it is hoped that the species could be saved by ongoing IIT efforts.
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Overview

  • Since June 2025, drones have deployed tens of thousands of biodegradable pods into remote forests, each containing about 1,000 Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes.
  • These drone drops now complement helicopter releases that together sustain 500,000 weekly Wolbachia males aimed at suppressing invasive Culex populations.
  • The incompatible insect technique leverages natural bacteria to induce non-viable eggs when lab-reared males mate with wild females, targeting vectors of avian malaria.
  • Early drone tests proved safer, more flexible and lower-emission than helicopters, reducing costs and risks in unpredictable mountain terrain.
  • Only 17 honeycreeper species remain in Hawaii, and experts hope the program will buy critical time for their recovery.