Eric Hearle, National Research Council, The Mosquitoes of the Lower Fraser Valley and their Control, Report no. 17, Ottawa, Kings Printer, 1926, p. 68.

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Unmentioned in Hearle's map, but revealed in his text (p. 13, see citation above), is his finding that the anticipated clouds of adult mosquitos did not materialize in 1921 despite the record river level. Judging from the size of the Sumas Prairie breeding areas, we might expect the moquitos to be overwhelming here.

But the most severe problem was in Mission, where Hearle's base of operations was established. Hearle's 1926 report for the Department of Agriculture became grist for his Master of Science degree as well as the basis for the eradication of the mosquito, through the draining of their breeding places, throughout the Fraser Valley. Of his educational campaign, Hearle writes that

"Until recently, very few people in the affected area had any idea that mosquitoes were controllable, and the pest was suffered as a necessary evil. Like the tide and the weather, it was considered to be unaffected by human intervention...Unfortunately, owing to the intermittent nature of the pest, public agitation, which may be very marked during a bad season, fades away before it is brought to a point where definite action results....It was found that a great number of people in the Lower Fraser Valley were unable to recognize mosquito larve and lacked any clear idea of the habits and life histories of mosquitoes. In order to remedy this an educational campaign was undertaken by the Dominion Entomological Branch in 1919 and 1920. By means of newspaper and magazine articles, lantern lecturers and exhibits at the larger exhibitions and district fairs, popular delusions regarding mosquitoes and their habits were, to some extent, dispelled."