Mosquito Biology

The mosquito is a common flying insect known all over the world. Mosquitoes can be found practically in any place of the world except for North Pole and South Pole.
There are more than 2 thousand kinds of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can fly very fastly (from 1 to 1.6 miles per hour).

Why Mosquito Bites people?

Mosquito's females suck blood and the nectar of plants, but the mosquito's males can drink only flower nectar. During a bite, mosquito injects an anticoagulant into the skin to make the victim's blood more fluid. Mosquito's female finds her victims by smell and heat.

Danger of infestation

You must remember that the mosquito is very often a carrier of dangerous diseases, such as encephalitis, malaria, yellow fever and others dangerous viruses. The mosquito, who suck blood, can transfer disease from an animal to the human.

Mosquito's Anatomy

The mosquito, as like all insects, has a body consisting of three main parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), a hard exoskeleton, six legs, and pair of wings. Mosquito have a thin proboscis and can eat only liquid food such as blood or nectar.

Mosquito's Life Cycle

Mosquitos life cycle consist of four distinct stages of development: EGG, PUPA, LARVA, and ADULT. The mosquito's full life cycle takes about a month.
Eggs:
After drinking blood, mosquito's females lay a raft of 50 to 300 tiny eggs in standing water.
Larvae:
Within about a week, the eggs turn into larvae (also termed as wrigglers) that can breathe through small tubes which they poke above the surface of the water. Larvae can eat organic matter's bits that float in water and each other. While they grow larvae molt four times. After the fourth molt, they become pupas.
Pupae:
Pupae (also termed as Tumblers) also live in water. Pupae breathes through two horn-like tubes (also called siphons) on their back.
Adult:
An adult mosquito emerges from a pupa after a few days when the pupas skin splits. The adult mosquito lives for only a few weeks.