document.write("<p class='body'>The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District uses natural soil bacteria and a mosquito growth regulator to control mosquitoes while they are still in their larval stage. These materials are applied by hand to small mosquito breeding sites and <a href=\"http://www.mmcd.org/helicopter.html\" target=\"_blank\">by helicopter</a> to areas larger than three acres.<br><br><img src=\"images/heliphoto.gif\" align=right><B>Bti</B> – <I>Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis</I> is used to control biting gnats and larval mosquitoes. Bti is a natural soil bacteria that disrupts the digestion of mosquitoes and biting gnats. <br><br><B>Methoprene</B> – is used to keep larval mosquitoes from fully developing by mimicking a juvenile hormone found naturally in immature mosquitoes.  This product is dispensed in pellet or briquette form.</p>");
document.write("<p class='body'><img src=\"images/pellets.gif\" align=left>Methoprene is used either as a long-lasting briquette or a 30-day pellet.  <i>Bti</i> is embedded in a ground corn cob granule. These are bio-rational mosquito control materials specifically designed to control larval mosquitoes without affecting other organisms.</p>");
document.write("<p class='body'><strong>The Mosquito Life Cycle</strong></p>");
document.write("<p class='body'>Floodwater mosquitoes lay their eggs singly on the damp ground. After significant rainfall these eggs become submerged and the larvae hatch. Other mosquitoes lay rafts of eggs directly on the water surface.<br><br>Mosquito larvae come to the surface of the water to breathe through an air tube called a siphon. They go through four growth stages, or instars, then change into pupae.<br><br>Adult mosquitoes develop inside a pupal case. When they are fully developed, the pupal case splits and the adult mosquito emerges.<br><br>The newly emerged adult mosquitoes rest on the water surface until their wings dry and they become strong enough to fly away and feed. Females then take blood, develop their eggs, and the cycle begins again.<br><img src=\"images/lifecycl.jpg\" width=500 height=242></p>");
document.write("<p class='body'><strong>Long-term Effects?</strong></p>");
document.write("<p class='body'><b>MMCD has been treating mosquito breeding sites in the metro area for years. Are there any long term effects of treating these sites?</b><br><br><img src=\"images/mosq2.gif\" width=\"147\" height=\"77\" align=\"right\">MMCD assembled a Scientific Peer Review Panel to help answer this question and spent a decade studying the effect of larval treatment on test sites in Wright County – just outside MMCD’s treatment area.<a href=\"sprp/SprpIndex.htm\" target=\"_blank\"> Click here to see the latest study results</a></p>");