Following the introduction of mosquitoes in the 1800s, native Maui honeycreepers have found refuge from mosquito-borne disease on the high, cold slopes of Haleakala volcano. In a dramatic case of rapid climate change, mosquitoes have penetrated elevations previously inaccessible to them, killing birds in their wake. To combat the rapidly increasing threat of disease, the Maui Forest Birds Recovery Project is catching the last healthy honeycreepers, like the critically endangered kiwikiu, to safeguard their populations in captivity. Simultaneously, MFBRP is releasing 500,000 mosquitoes every week in an effort to eradicate the blood-sucking invasives. These lab-grown mosquitoes are doctored with a naturally occurring bacteria called Walbochia which renders their eggs unviable and could lead to a mosquito population crash in a single generation. Kiwikiu are long-lived, and MFBRP plans to release the same individuals and any potential offspring when the threat of disease has been neutralized.