Some wisdom sought

[The Snark]

Around here as in many places in S.E. Asia, frogs and tadpoles are considered a delicacy. People are always swarming the rice paddys with a vast assortment of frog catching equipment and really make a dent in the amphibian population.

The problem is frogs are the front line of defense against mosquitoes. It's REALLY frustrating to do health work in dengue and malaria infested areas and watch them slaughter the frogs.

So my question is, would anybody care to try and come up with a brief, easily translated explanation and info blurb explaining the benefits of frogs that I can print out and spread around the villages? Essentially I am looking for new wording, concise, easily understood, that really gets the point across.

 

[Entomancer]

Well, I don't know about tropical places, but here (here being Oregon) frogs (probably) don't eat many mosquitoes at all.

Most of the mosquitoes here are mostly eaten by dragonflies and spiders (in their adult stages) and fish/aquatic invertebrates (in their larval stages). The mosquitoes are much too small to be considered prey for most frogs, with perhaps the exception of small recently-metamorphosed frogs or the pacific chorus frogs/tree frogs.

That being said, it's obviously not good for humans to eliminate any organisms from any ecosystems. Perhaps there is another service that the frogs provide? Are there other pests that they would eat?

 

[PrettyHate]

Around here as in many places in S.E. Asia, frogs and tadpoles are considered a delicacy. People are always swarming the rice paddys with a vast assortment of frog catching equipment and really make a dent in the amphibian population.

The problem is frogs are the front line of defense against mosquitoes. It's REALLY frustrating to do health work in dengue and malaria infested areas and watch them slaughter the frogs.

So my question is, would anybody care to try and come up with a brief, easily translated explanation and info blurb explaining the benefits of frogs that I can print out and spread around the villages? Essentially I am looking for new wording, concise, easily understood, that really gets the point across.

What about a simple picture or series of pictures? That way it could be understood by more languages/ages and those that are unable to read as well.

 

[The Snark]

I'm trying to piece this together to make a cohesive and comprehensive effort. Pictures or well done drawings sounds like a brilliant approach since we are dealing with several different languages and some people are illiterate.
So how would a series of images work? We have the rice paddys. They get flooded twice a year for 2-3 months. The water stands stagnant a few inches deep during this time. The Dengue carrier, Aedes Aegypti, always use stagnant water to lay their eggs and the flooded paddys are ideal. The tadpoles eat the eggs and larvae. The frogs eat the flying mosquitoes. An undisturbed paddy often contains hundreds of tadpoles or 10 to 50 small frogs per square meter. When the locals work the fields with their triangular bamboo catching nets their eradication rate of the tadpoles and frogs is close to 100%. In come the mosquitoes into this very opportune situation, breed and spread up to a 5 miles. The mass of mosquitoes from such a perfect environment usually assures most stagnant water in the surrounding areas will become the next breeding ground. Thus Dengue starts in rainwater and stagnant pools in urban environments at the beginning of the wet season but thanks to the paddys quickly spreads out into the farthestmost reaches until blood, preferably mammalian, required for the female to reproduce, becomes unavailable.

So a storyboard of images would be the way to go. Anyone know of a good artist willing to contribute to this endeavor?

 

[PrettyHate]

I almost see this as two series of pictures. One illustrating what happens when people eat the tadpoles/frogs and one of what happens when the frogs are left to eat the larvae.
1. You could start with the rice paddy with the rain coming down, and tadpoles hatching, -
2. This could then break into two different scenarios - (all of the A's would be one series of pictures, and all of the B's would be another series of pictures)
a. the locals with their bamboo catching nets catch the frogs/tadpoles
b. the locals with their bamboo catching nets catch but then release the frogs (or maybe they just dont use the nets at all? are the nets for the purpose of catching frogs only?)
3. a. along come the mosquitoes to lay their eggs/ eggs hatch
b. along come the mosquitoes to lay their eggs/ eggs hatch
4. a. mosquito larvae turn into their adult form and infect humans with malaria
b. frog eat the mosquito larvae
5. a. picture of sick person
b. picture of happy, healthy people.

I would offer my services, but I am not very good at drawing things unless I have something to copy off of...

 

[CHLee]

in short,it won't work.you're trying to get them to stop doing what they've been doing for who knows how long.
aren't there any frog farms in thailand? all the frogs here used in cooking are farm bred bullfrogs and one more i can't remember.
maybe try to tell them about the parasites that might be found in the frogs

 

[SamuraiSid]

Id find a group of like minded people and teach them to breed frogs. Im assuming it wouldn't require expensive and/or elaborate systems as the natural climate is suitable to breed. You could help increase the natural population through breeding programs, while selling some tadpoles/ frogs to the people to fund the operation and possibly reduce the number of hunters. You could even look into Government funding, whilst getting one of your more interested friends to start up a not for profit organization.

I know Im being cynical, but on this side of the pond there is lots of easy to understand/ follow information about healthy eating and the majority seem satisfied killing themselves for a tasty meal.

 

[The Snark]

PrettyHate, thanks mucho! I'm working on it.

CHLee, Samurai Sid. It appears to be a cultural thing. A major delicacy item. They commonly eat the spawn and frogs raw.
There are a lot of commercial frog farms. That doesn't slow down the hunting of the wild ones at all. They prefer the little baby frogs and wading in the paddys seems to be a social event on top of everything else.
I've pounded my head against this wall for 13 years now. PrettyHate's suggestion seems to be the best shot. I'm just mulling how to get the message across million pound sh*thammer style. Lots of nice images gets lost in the wash.

 

[PrettyHate]

Best of luck- be sure to post the finished product on here

 

[singaporesling]

I guess the uneducated people will contribute to their malaria problem

 

[The Snark]

I guess the uneducated people will contribute to their malaria problem

Let us not forget the several decades during the dark ages when the churches blamed the plagues on people bathing too frequently. Ignorance and complacency will forever remain the deadliest threat to the survival of humans.

 

[Malhavoc's]

Snark,
have you ever tried appealing to the greed in them? and propose amphibian farms? surely a farm of frogs wouldnt be too bad, and they could make quite a profit selling to their neighbours while decimating the mosquito population in the area.

 

[bugmankeith]

Don't Siamese fighting fish also inhabit the waters, they eat mosquito larva.

 

[The Snark]

There is a lot of aquaculture going on around here but that has no effect on the wild frog slaughter. The attitude being why pay for frogs in the market when I can wade in the paddy for an hour or two, often socializing with friends, and get all I want?

Fish are non viable for growing in rice paddys as the paddys are emptied of water for ~7 to 8 months of the year and when the paddies are flooded they are fully exposed to the sun so the dissolved oxygen in the water is almost nil while dissolved nitrogen is through the ceiling. This is a natural process most farmers are unaware of: the natural solar fueled algae growth replenishing the nitrogen in the soil when they churn the mud up and get the paddys ready for planting. In addition, due to the high nitrogen content, paddy water can get down as low as 4.5 ph. I don't think any fish, barring surface breathers with lungs as the cats, can live in that kind of soup.