Mosquitoes - The Facts

Mosquitoes are small, long legged, two winged insects, Mosquitoes belong to a family of flies that are called Culicidae and are small fragile insects that have six delicate legs and two wings covered in scales. All members of this family have piercing and sucking mouth-parts as well as fine scales on their body and wings

Mosquitoes, like all insects have 3 main body parts:
- Head - Where all the sensors are, also the location of the biting apparatus. The head is composed of two compound eyes, antennae to sense chemicals and the mouth parts called the palpus and the proboscis (female mosquitoes are the only ones that have the proboscis, for biting).
- Thorax - This segment of the mosquito is where the two wings and six legs are attached. It contains the flight muscles, compound heart, some nerve cell ganglia and trachioles.
- Abdomen - This segment of the mosquitoes body contains the digestive and excretory organs.

Even though there are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes, only three members of this family bear primary responsibility for the spread of human diseases.
- Aedes mosquitoes, of which the voracious Asian tiger is a member, carry yellow fever, dengue, and encephalitis.
- Anopheles mosquitoes are the only species known to carry malaria. They also transmit filariasis (also called elephantiasis) and encephalitis.
- Culex mosquitoes carry encephalitis, filariasis, and the West Nile virus.

There are more than 3,000 named species of mosquito, of which only a couple of hundred bite or bother humans.

An adult mosquito can live as long as 5 months. It may take several months for a larva to develop to the adult stage in cold water. Eggs of floodwater mosquitoes may remain dormant for several years, and hatch when they are covered with water.

Mosquito bites often result in skin bumps which is an allergic reaction to mosquito saliva. The reaction can vary from person to person, but usually lasts no more than 24 hours.

Mosquitoes are considered one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet because of their ability to spread deadly diseases.

All mosquitoes lay their eggs in water.

Mosquitoes are very attracted to people with sweaty, smelly feet and bad body odor.

Foot odor in particular is known to attract the malaria-carrying mosquito Anopheles Gambiae.

Malaria is caused by a one-celled parasite called a Plasmodium. Only ''Anopheles'' female mosquitoes can transmit malaria and they must have been infected through a previous blood meal taken on an infected person. When a mosquito bites an infected person, a small amount of blood is taken, which contains microscopic malaria parasites. About one week later, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, these parasites mix with the mosquito's saliva and are injected into the person being bitten.

Mosquitoes are the only place that the malaria parasite can undergo its reproductive stage.

A mosquito has what is known as a proboscis, which is a long, pointed mouth-part used to pierce the skin. When biting, they stab two tubes into the skin: one to inject an enzyme that inhibits blood clotting; the other to suck blood into their bodies. They use the blood not for their own nourishment but as a source of protein for their eggs. For food, both males and females eat nectar and other plant sugars.

Virtually all mosquito larva habitats have one factor in common, "standing water". The elimination of water from the site will result in complete control. However, the practicality and environmental effects of such activities rarely make this a viable option on a large scale.

In general most mosquito control programs rely on larvicides (chemical or BT H-14). Since mosquito larvae can only survive when in water, they are easier to control than the adults which are free to fly about over a wide area.

Mosquitoes carry many types of diseases that are caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses. These diseases include: Malaria, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, Dengue Fever, West Nile virus, Chikungunya,

Mosquitoes spread malaria when they feed on an infected persons blood and pick up the Plasmodium parasite. The parasite then develops in the mosquitoes body for about two weeks. When that mosquito feeds again it transfers the Malaria parasite to another person via it's saliva. Mosquitoes transmit West Nile Virus and other diseases in similar ways.

Mosquitoes cannot spread the HIV (AIDS) virus as when it bites a person, it does not inject its own or a previously bitten person's or animal's blood into the next person bitten. Rather, it injects saliva, which acts as a lubricant so the insect can feed efficiently.

Mosquitoes cause more human deaths and sufferings than any other organism known to man. Over one million people worldwide pass away from mosquito-borne diseases every year. Not only can mosquitoes carry diseases that affect humans, they also transmit numerous diseases and parasites to dogs and horses. These include dog heart-worm, West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).

Female mosquitoes of many common species can lay 100-200 eggs during the course of the adult phase of their life-cycle. Even with high egg and inter-generational mortality, over a period of several weeks a single successful breeding pair can create a population of thousands.

Mosquitoes have been inhabiting our Earth for more than 100 million years.

Mosquitoes go through four separate and distinct stages of its life cycle and they are as follows: Egg which hatches and becomes Larva to pupa where metamorphosis takes place inside a pupa casing, and finally the adult emerges.

Mosquito larvae, commonly called "wigglers" or "wrigglers", must live in water from 7 to 14 days depending on water temperature. The Larvae must come to the surface at frequent intervals to obtain oxygen through a breathing tube called a siphon. The mosquito larvae eats algae and small organisms which inhabit the water.

Mosquito pupae, commonly called "tumblers", must live in water from 1 to 4 days, depending upon species and temperature. The pupa is lighter than water and therefore floats at the surface. It takes oxygen through two breathing tubes called "trumpets"The pupa does not eat. Metamorphosis from pupa to adult mosquito is completed within the pupal case.

An adult female mosquito weighs only about 1/15,000 ounce or about 2.0 milligrams.

Worldwide, mosquito-borne diseases kill more people than any other single factor. Mosquitoes are known carriers of malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever in humans. In the United States, mosquitoes spread several types of encephalitis. They also transmit heart worms to cats and dogs.

An adult female mosquito consumes about 5-millionths of a liter in a single blood meal.

A mosquito wing beats from 300 to 600 times per second.

A study has proven that people with "Type O" blood suffer more mosquito bites than any other blood type, because of the odorant markers they emit.

Male mosquitoes find female mosquitoes by listening to the sound of their wings beating. The males can actually identify the correct species by the pitch of the female’s wings.

Mosquitoes can fly about 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.

Most mosquitoes do not fly very far from their larval habitat, but the salt marsh mosquito migrates 75 to 100 miles over the course of its life.

Mosquitoes cannot fly too high; they fly somewhere between 25 and 40 feet up in the air

Mosquitoes use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odors, temperature, and movement to home in on their victims. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes so people who don't sweat much don't get nearly as many mosquito bites as people who do.

Some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others. It is not clear why, but probably has something to do with the 300 odd chemicals produced by the skin. In the interest of science, Arctic researchers uncovered their chests, arms, and legs and reported as many as 9000 mosquito bites per person, per minute. At this rate, and unprotected human would lose one half of his blood supply in approximately 2 hours.

Mosquito saliva has some of the same ingredients as rat poison

The three main parts of a mosquito are its head, its abdomen, and its thorax.

Pregnancy seems to be a big turn on for a mosquito, probably because in pregnancy women exhale 21 percent more carbon dioxide and are on average warmer around the belly than their non-pregnant counterparts, due to the temperature of amniotic fluid.

A mosquito has two eyes that make up the majority of its head. Each eye is filled with little lenses so it can see from multiple directions at once - thus making it almost impossible to swat that dreaded mosquito

A mosquito has one pair of wings coming off its thorax

Beer drinkers are also another attractive target for the mosquitoes, probably due to an increase in body temperature or because skin markers change when metabolizing.

Ancient mosquitoes were up to three times larger than today's mosquitoes

A mosquito has six legs

Upon close inspection, a mosquito's abdomen has distinct markings that make it possible to tell which species it is

Mosquitoes are approximately 16 millimeters long

The average weight of a mosquito is about 2.5 milligrams

Both male and female mosquitoes eat flower nectar for nourishment

Female mosquitoes bite humans and animals so they can receive protein. This protein helps them lay eggs, thus bringing more blood-sucking mosquitoes into the world.

Mosquito fog can help reduce the number of mosquitoes on your property, but this is not the best solution for the environment

A female mosquito has a ridged proboscis to pierce human and animal skin. Because of the serrated edges of her proboscis, her bite usually goes undetected until the itchiness sets in.

A male mosquito has a proboscis, but it does not have ragged edges for biting.

The word mosquito (formed by mosca and diminutive ito) is from the Spanish for "little fly"

In most mosquito species, adult females lay their eggs in stagnated water; some lay their eggs near the water's edge; whilst others attach their eggs to aquatic plants.

Mosquito repellant lotion and mosquito spray can certainly keep mosquitoes from biting you, but you must be sure to reapply often if you are outside in a highly populated mosquito area

Male mosquitoes are slightly smaller than females.

Mosquitoes are more attracted to women than to men.

Mosquitoes like to aim for moving, non-contrasting targets.

Many mosquitoes target people in dark clothing.

When female mosquitoes drink blood, they purify the blood in their systems and leave a small puddle of urine on their victim's skin. That is why when you first get bit, you may notice a small wet spot around the bite.

On average, a female mosquito drink from 0.001 to 0.1 millimeters of blood per feed.

Mosquitoes have built in heat sensors, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

Mosquitoes live on almost every continent and in any habitat, and serve important functions in numerous ecosystems. Wiping out a species of mosquito could leave a predator without prey, or a plant without a pollinator.

Scientists believe that mosquitoes originated from South Africa and eventually spread to the rest of the world.

Only female mosquitoes make that annoying, buzzing sound that makes you start furiously swatting.

The only positive aspect of having that dreaded cloud of mosquitoes in your garden is that they are a reliable source of food for thousands of animals, including birds, bats, dragonflies, and frogs. In addition to this, humans are actually not first choice on a mosquitoes menu when looking for a meal. They usually prefer horses, cattle, and birds.