A vengeful sailor brought mosquitos to Hawaii - True story ??? (house, live in)

[Lisa From Maui]

Someone told me that the white man brought mosquitos to the islands.

Before the white man came, there were no mosquitos in Hawai'i. There was a sailor that wanted to marry (or have sex) a local Hawaiian girl. Either the girl or the family said no to him, and he got angry. He wanted revenge.

He sailed to the mainland, brought back a big container of mosquitos, and released them on the islands. That's how we got mosquitos.

Is there any truth to this story? If yes, please give me a website, or book, or something, where I can read the original story. Mahalo!

[Balad1]

I always heard it was from the bilge water of the old wooden ship, also heard the rats came over on the ship too.

[leilaniguy]

My understanding is that the sailors brought Norwegian rats (roof rats) by accident, but the Polynesians brought Pacific rats with them to use as food. Yum!

[lauleahere&there]

From an article about feral pigs, mosquitoes and the decline of native bird populations in Hawai'i. :

"Though common in most continental areas, mosquitoes are not
native to many oceanic islands. The southern house mosquito Culex
quinquefasciatus occurs throughout the subtropical and tropical regions
of the world. It is often associated with manmade habitats and was
spread widely through commerce. It was the first mosquito to arrive
in Hawai‘i, having been introduced in 1826 when, presumably, it was
brought ashore in water casks from a ship recently sailed from Mexico."

[hotzcatz]

They were probably brought over in water casks which isn't nearly as colorful a story as the ones circulating around. I've also heard the missionaries brought them over so folks would wear more clothes.

[Calico Salsa]

Yeah, the vengeful sailor story seems like it could have a lot of holes.

Most sailors weren't in any position to decide to just hop on a ship, sail home, then sail back again whenever they decided to. Most were fairly poor, earning enough to spend on food and lots of drink where ever they docked.

Trips took a long time. For example, in 1819 a trip to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) could take over 150 days.

Sailors also didn't get checked baggage allowances like today. A big container of mosquitos? Unlikely, when they probably had just their few clothing and maybe something like a bible.

So a regular sailor might be mad, but vengeful enough to wrangle a trip back home, get some mosquitoes in a container, and get another trip back? How would the mosquitoes survive, did the sailor stick his arm in the container every now & then?

Mosquitoes larvae could have been in ships casks. Some could survive if hatched below decks and feeding on the sailors, and lay new eggs, and start the cycle over again. Males live about a week, and females about a month. That means it took a few generations to make it here.

[hothulamaui]

anything not natural to hawaii gets here piggyback either on a boat or a plane, on a person.
lisa a book about hawaiian myth is always full of great stories.
is molokini really the severed tail of a gecko?
the kolohe menehunes did all sorts of things
Hawaiian Mythology Index

[10,000Lakes]

I think the rats on ships makes more sense. I don't even think a jar of mosquites would live long enough for the journey. Interesting though.

[lauleahere&there]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

They were probably brought over in water casks which isn't nearly as colorful a story as the ones circulating around. I've also heard the missionaries brought them over so folks would wear more clothes.

Right. And they planted kiawe to get the locals to wear shoes.

[kawika52]

I think Lelaniguy was right with the rat story. I guess the big worry right now is if mosquitoes from temperate areas ever get to Hawai'i. The ones so far have been from other tropical areas. These carry Avian Malaria and wiped out many of the native birds. But these mosquitoes cant live in the colder higher elevations so the birds still survive there. If the temperate mosquitoes (which can also carry AM) get there, it could be the end of most of the native bird species...