92 SMITHSONIAN.COM | December 2019 Illustration by Kaley McKean
HILE THEY CAN seem pointless and
purely irritating to us humans, mos-
quitoes do play a substantial role in
the ecosystem. Mosquitoes form an
important source of biomass in the
food chain—serving as food for fi sh
as larvae and for birds, bats and frogs as adult fl ies—
and some species are important pollinators. Mos-
quitoes don’t deserve such a bad rap, says Yvonne-
Marie Linton, research director at the Walter Reed
Biosystematics Unit, which curates Smithsonian’s
U.S. National Mosquito Collection. Out of the more
than 3,500 mosquito species, only around 400 can
transmit diseases like malaria and West Nile virus to
people, and most don’t feed on humans at all.
Q: I read that a lioness may eat her cubs or
let them starve. Is that true? Why would she
do that?
Jeaneth Larsen | Mitchell, South Dakota
IF A LIONESS EATS HER CUB, it’s likely because
there’s a problem: Either it was stillborn or died short-
ly after birth from natural causes. The mother con-
sumes the remains so predators aren’t attracted to
it. Think of it more as a survival tactic than a brutal
ritual, says Craig Saff oe, curator of Great Cats areas
at the National Zoo. A lioness will feed her off spring
milk unless she physically stops producing it, which
might happen due to low food and water resources
and could lead the cubs to perish. If the cubs are old
enough to eat solids, they usually eat with the rest of
the pride, but have to eat last and are usually the fi rst
to die off if resources are low. Grown adults generally
eat fi rst; that enables them to breed again as soon as
resources return to normal.Q: What was the origin of ZIP codes?
Rosanne Levitt | New York CityTHE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE introduced the “zone im-
provement plan” (ZIP) code in 1963. The nationwide
system mechanized more of the work of mail sorting,
which had previously been done by hand , says Lynn
Heidelbaugh, curator at the National Postal Muse-
um. The idea dates to 1944, when postal inspector
Robert Moon proposed adding a three-digit code to
addresses; the fi rst number referred to a region and
the next two to a mail processing center. Two decades
later, after mail volumes had grown exponentially ,
Postmaster J. Edward Day adopted a version of that
plan, adding a fourth and fi fth digit designating a
specifi c post offi ce. The Zip code has been expanded
twice: Four additional numbers indicate what side of
the street, or even hallway, the destination is on. Two
more numbers sequence the carrier’s route to make it
more effi cient.Q: Why is the Republican Party represented
by an elephant and the Democratic a donkey?
Anonymous | Washington, D.C.PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON, who was support-
ed by the Democrats in 1828 , earned the nickname
“Jackass” for his stubbornness, says Jon Grinspan,
curator of political history at the National Museum
of American History. The image stuck to the Demo-
crats and took off after the Civil War, when they were
seen as the defeated party that wouldn’t accept its
loss. Around the same time, cartoonist Thomas Nast
started drawing a stumbling elephant to represent
the Republican Party, once united by its abolitionist
goal but struggling in the postwar years. Original-
ly somewhat insulting, the two symbols were em-
braced in the early 20th century.Q: What purpose do mosquitoes serve?
Lana Carlton | Bradenton, Floridaask smithsonian
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