Three Mosquitoes...

I don’t know whether any human habitat exists in this world where mosquitoes are not present. There are more than 2,700 types of mosquitoes around the world. But the most common species are Aedes, Culex and Anopheles. It is said that mosquitoes evolved about 30 million years ago. From that time they are annoying us and we humans tried many methods to ward them away. But if we look back, millions might have died (indirectly) of mosquito bites. That is, coz of diseases likes malaria and encephalitis. (With some people, mosquito bite itself becomes fatal, if they are that allergic).

We all studied about the life cycle of a mosquito at schools. But what happens once the pupa turns into an adult mosquito? For a while it simply rests on the surface of the water to dry its body and wings and to gain some strength to its delicate legs. Then it flies away looking for blood? Not really…

The popular belief is that only male ones feed on nectar and plant fluids. But the truth is during the life time, even the females feed on it. And in reality, female can survive on nectar and plant fluids alone, if they want (or that is what most of the entomologists believe), though it is not in its nature. Then why do the female ones drink blood? (Male ones can’t even try boozing on blood coz, they don’t have the ‘surgical’ and blood sucking mechanism) What turned them into Dracula?

It is the job of the females to lay eggs. And the egg ‘manufacturing’ need protein and iron (may be some other things too but mainly protein). And that is why female ones meal on blood. So, do all female mosquitoes drink blood? There is one exemption….

Toxorhynchites mosquitoes don’t feed on blood, yes , even the females. So what do these gals do for getting protein? The strange fact is that the larvae of these mosquitoes feed on the larvae of other mosquitoes ! I don’t know whether all the larvae feed like this or the potentially female ones. So, these mosquitoes are good for us and can be used to control other mosquitoes. But why we are not using this method? There are MNCs who manufacture and make a living on mosquito repellents. That can be one reason, I don’t know, its just my personal view for the time being.


How far can they fly? It depends on the family. Some species fly only few meters here and there from their original breeding place. Most of the common ones fly only within 2 kilometers. But there are some species which can fly up to 100 kilometers. And not just that, some ‘fly’ long distance cleverly with the help of wind, by moving in the direction of the wind.

Why do we get that itching when we are bitten? When she bites, she also injects her saliva which has some ‘special’ chemicals which helps avoid clotting of blood. This is mostly some proteins and our body tries to fights it out and hence the itching and bump.

Mosquitoes use many sensing methods to locate its victim. The most common ones known to us are chemical, visual and heat sensing.

Chemical sensing means, mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid that comes as a result of us exhaling. It can also sense many chemicals that are present in our sweat. Thus a sweaty person might attract more mosquitoes. It is also said that those who have O group blood are more prone to mosquito bites. This shows they can even find out that (different blood types) using some sensors. Strange, but it is observed that mosquitoes are more attracted to fat or obese people!

Since they are equipped with compound eyes, they have a good vision and it looks for people who wear darker colored cloths. Its not just about visual sensing, but it also has something to do with …

……sensing heat. Mosquitoes can sense (infrared) heat that is emitted by living animals and birds. And here we need to consider that darker colored cloths can absorb more heat and that can be one reason why mosquitoes easily target them.

And may be it is coz the females that are biting, they prefer men than women (very funny?) !!