Mosquito is Spanish for
“little fly.” The word reportedly originated in the
early 16th century. In Africa,
mosquitoes are called “Mozzies”. There are more than 3,500
species of mosquitoes. About 175 of them are found in the
United States, with the
Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Culex
pipiens, and Aedes aegypti (Asian
tiger mosquito) among the most
common. The Anopheles is a malaria carrier, and the other
two are known to spread
various forms of encephalitis. West Virginia has the
fewest species of
mosquitoes. There are 26 in the mountainous state, while
Texas has the most with 85.
Florida is a close second with 80
identified species. Only female mosquitoes bite
people. Both male and female feed mainly on fruit and plant
nectar, but the female also
needs the protein in blood to
help her eggs develop. Once she's
had her fill of blood, she'll rest a
couple of days before laying her eggs. Mosquitoes don't have
teeth. The females “bite” with a long, pointed mouthpart called
a proboscis. They use the
serrated proboscis to pierce the
skin and locate a capillary, then
draw blood through one of two
tubes. A mosquito can drink up to
three times its weight in
blood. Don't worry, though. It would take about 1.2 million bites
to drain all the blood from your
body. Female mosquitoes can lay
up to 300 eggs at a time. Usually, the eggs are deposited
in clusters – called rafts – on
the surface of stagnant water,
or they are laid in areas that
flood regularly. Eggs can hatch in
as little as an inch of standing water. Females will lay eggs up
to three times before they die. Mosquitoes spend their
first 10 days in water. Water is necessary for the eggs
to hatch into larvae, called
wigglers. Wigglers feed on
organic matter in stagnant
water and breathe oxygen from
the surface. They develop into pupae, which do not feed and
are partially encased in cocoons.
Over several days, the pupae
change into adult mosquitoes. Mosquitoes hibernate. They are cold-blooded and prefer
temperatures over 80 degrees.
At temperatures less than 50
degrees, they shut down for the
winter. The adult females of
some species find holes where they wait for warmer weather,
while others lay their eggs in
freezing water and die. The eggs
keep until the temperatures
rise, and they can hatch. The average mosquito
lifespan is less than two
months. Males have the shortest lives, usually 10 days or
less, and females can live about
six to eight weeks, under ideal
conditions. The females lay eggs
about every three days during
that time. Females of species that hibernate may live up to six
months. The bloodsucker anatomy
and behavior Mosquitoes have six legs. They also have a head, thorax
and abdomen. On the head are
two large compound eyes, two
ocelli (simple eyes), two
antennae and a proboscis. Two
large, scaled wings sprout from the thorax. Midges and crane flies are
often mistaken for
mosquitoes. Biting midges are smaller, have shorter wings and
tend to feed in swarms. Mosquito traps often attract and kill biting midges. Meanwhile, crane
flies are much larger than
mosquitoes – up to 1 ½ inches
long in some cases – and do not
bite. Male mosquitoes locate
females by the sound of
their wings. Females can beat their wings up to 500 times per
second, and the males pick out
the higher frequency of those
beats when seeking a mate. Mosquitoes can't fly very
far or very fast. Most mosquitoes can fly no more than
about one to three miles, and
often stay within several
hundred feet of where they
were hatched. However, a few
salt marsh species can travel up to 40 miles. The top speed for a
mosquito is about 1.5 miles per
hour. Mosquitoes generally fly
below 25 feet. However, some species have also been found at
extraordinary heights, including
8,000 feet up in the Himalayas. Mosquitoes can smell human
breath. They have receptors on their antennae that detect
the carbon dioxide released
when we exhale. Those plumes of
CO2 rise into the air, acting as
trails that the mosquitoes follow
to find the source. Sweat helps mosquitoes
choose their victims. Our skin produces more than 340 chemical
odors, and some of them smell
like dinner to mosquitoes. They
are fond of octenol, a chemical
released in sweat, as well as
cholesterol, folic acid, certain bacteria, skin lotions, and
perfume. Body heat marks the
target. Mosquitoes use heat sensors around their mouthparts
to detect the warmth of your
body – actually, the blood inside
it – then land on you and locate
the best capillaries for tapping. Mosquitoes feed day and
night. Some species, like the Aedes are daytime biters, while
others, like Culex, start biting at
dusk and continue a few hours
into dark.