Mosquitoes are annoying insects, but at the same time with their own characteristics. So, for example, it is known that female bloodsuckers love to sting mainly women, and of the ladies they mostly stop at blondes.
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Everyone encounters mosquitoes - at least once in their life, but everyone heard a characteristic squeak in the air in the darkness of the night when you go to bed. It is he who foreshadows that an attack of these small blood-sucking animals is possible. Meeting with mosquitoes for many turns into unpleasant consequences. And in some regions of Russia, the invasion of these insects turns normal life into hell and a nightmare. Who bites. It should be understood that mosquitoes bite people for a reason, but for a completely specific purpose - usually females sting people in order to provide food for their eggs. Male mosquitoes, as a rule, are content with a vegetarian menu - plant sap and pollen from flowers. Females, however, do not accept this option, because on such food they lose the ability to lay eggs. The number of offspring will directly depend on the amount of blood consumed and the possibility of renewing stocks. One clutch - 30-150 eggs, and the female mosquito produces its offspring every 2-3 days.
Beginning of life
The first step is to find out where the mosquitoes come from. These small, ubiquitous insects emerge from eggs that females carefully lay on the surface of the water. The clutch immediately sinks to the bottom and after a few weeks the eggs turn into pupae, which are quite adapted for existence in the aquatic environment.
After a while, the formation of all organs of the small pupa ends, after which it floats to the surface of the reservoir, the cocoon opens and an adult emerges from it.
Centipede at different stages of development
Caramora eggs are usually elongated (less often round), covered with a dense opaque shell of glossy black color.
The larvae of this mosquito live in a humid environment: forest litter, soil, rotting tree, fresh water. They are characterized by a large, well-developed head and powerful jaws, allowing them not only to feed on decaying plant debris, but also to gnaw at living roots.
At the pupal stage, the largest mosquito known to science has a free, elongated-cylindrical shape. The caps of the limbs of the pupa are tightly pressed to the body, the segments of the abdomen are marked with spines arranged in transverse rows. Thanks to the thorns located on the surface of the head, pupae can easily get out of wood dust or soft soil.
Bodybuilding wonders
The exact mass of a mosquito is difficult to determine, since its value is largely determined by the amount of food eaten. But still there are averages:
- a hungry insect weighs no more than 2 mg;
- full weight can reach from 3 to 5 mg.
Mosquito feet - what is special?
Many are interested in the question of how many paws a mosquito has. He has three pairs of legs, however, like most insects on our planet. Each tarsus consists of five segments, and the last one necessarily has suckers, which are developed differently in each specific species.
However, it is not the number of legs that is of interest, but the very suckers that allow the mosquito to calmly hold its body on vertical surfaces.
Oral apparatus
The mouth apparatus of the mosquito is of no less interest. It consists of two pairs of jaws and two lips - upper and lower. The lips of this insect are slightly elongated and, having such a structure, resemble a groove. If you look inside it, you can find long needles that are jaws.
So, these insects have jaws, lips and even a tongue that conducts saliva. And then a reasonable question arises - do mosquitoes have teeth? And what is surprising - there is. They are very small, and their number reaches 50 pieces. It is thanks to them that the bloodsucker can pierce the skin.
What are wings - the ability to fly or ... to sing?
Another amazing feature of these insects is the ability to squeak in the absence of a voice. So why is the mosquito beeping? In fact, the squeak is not the result of the work of the vocal cords, but the sound that it makes with its wings.
On a note! Other insects are also capable of producing characteristic sounds using only their wings. And most of them are buzzing - flies, bees, bumblebees, wasps, etc.!
Why doesn't the mosquito buzz, but squeak? It's all about size. His wings, like himself, are very small and, moreover, rather thin and narrow. Each wingbeat merges with the sound of the next wingbeat, creating a high-frequency sound that our ears perceive as a squeak. How many strokes per second does a mosquito make? Their frequency is incredibly high and is about 600 times per second!
Some interesting facts about mosquito squeaks:
- this sound helps females attract males during mating;
- mosquitoes do not hear a squeak, but vibrations of sound that they catch with their antennae;
- in females, the squeak is somewhat thinner than in males;
- the squeak of young females differs from the sound of adults, and it is for these differences that the male chooses a pair for himself - a more mature female.
Interesting representatives
In nature, there are more than 4 thousand varieties of this family, some of them have such an attractive appearance that they are admired like butterflies.
A festive long-stemmed or decorated ctenophore does not leave anyone indifferent, does not cause fear. The name speaks for itself. The photo is shown below.
Festive longleg
Lives in our area, is included in the Red Book of Russia, Ukraine. Body length reaches 26 mm. He practically does not know how to fly, although the wings are large enough. Bite too, feeds on plant juices, fruits, nectar. The larvae are pests and damage deciduous trees.
An amazing color with black, yellow, orange, brown. The abdomen is striped, a bit like a wasp. The same long limbs, but painted in black and orange. Males have lemon-colored antennae. Insect larvae develop in rotten wood, old hollows. The reason for the extinction of the species is the intensive felling of deciduous forests.
Nutrition - who bites, why, whom and why
And who bites, the male mosquito or the female? Discomfort is brought to us only by female individuals, and regardless of what species they belong to. And they do not care who bites - a person or an animal. The main thing is that blood must flow in the victim's veins.
However, there are surprising features here as well. As notorious vampires, female mosquitoes are capable of becoming "vegetarians" for a while.
On a note! Vegetarianism is a forced measure and females resort to it only in the absence of a blood source for a long time!
What do mosquitoes eat besides blood? They change their protein menu to carbohydrate and feed on flower nectar, plant sap and pollen. By the way, for males such a diet is lifelong and they feel great at the same time.But for females, such food is not the most suitable, since during the period of vegetarianism they lose the ability to lay eggs.
On a note! Some types of mosquitoes do not feed on anything at all. For example, belling mosquitoes, which are easily recognized by the twitching of their legs when they sit. Such individuals live for a very short time - their life expectancy is no more than a week, often only three days!
Having considered the features of the diet, it becomes clear why mosquitoes drink blood. The answer here is obvious - to live and be the successors of the family. Therefore, the cyclicality of the egg laying will depend on the possibility of blood consumption. One mosquito clutch is from 30 to 150 eggs, and the female produces offspring every two to three days!
Victim selection
Why don't mosquitoes bite everyone? After all, it is known that these insects choose a victim for themselves, but by what principle? There are several assumptions.
- Blood group - these bloodsuckers are interested in the protein contained in the blood of a certain group, namely the first. Next in popularity are the carriers of the third group, but the second is not so attractive for them.
On a note! The insect learns about the blood group by a signal that the person himself gives through his own skin, and there are about 85% of such people!
- The smell of carbon dioxide that a person exhales is attractive to a bloodsucker. And the more carbon dioxide the victim produces and the more often breathing occurs, the more likely the bloodsucker will attack. A mosquito feels it at a distance of 50 m!
On a note! For this reason, flying vampires are more likely to bite children!
- Metabolism plays an important role in choosing a tidbit. The faster the metabolic processes occur, the higher the blood temperature and the more intense the smell of uric and lactic acids, as well as ammonia and sweat, which are especially attractive to little bloodsuckers, becomes.
- Bacteria on the human body can also attract insects. At the same time, bloodsuckers will bite only in those areas where these bacteria are especially concentrated, and places where they are completely absent are absolutely not attractive for bloodsuckers.
- The smell of alcohol can turn a person into an attractive target for this parasite. Ethanol not only attracts mosquitoes, but it also increases body temperature and sweating, which, as we found earlier, also attracts insects.
- Women during pregnancy are also at risk and, according to studies, deserve the attention of blood-sucking insects twice as often. And this is due to the fact that their body temperature is higher and they exhale carbon dioxide by 21% more.
Leather as a source of odor
Some scientists are inclined to believe that the presence of bacteria on human skin is also a decisive factor in the attack of mosquitoes. The waste products of microorganisms create a special aroma, a kind of signal for them.
Please note that mosquitoes choose different areas of the body to bite. This is all due to the same smell. In addition to the face, they tend to the ankles and feet. Regular showers and good hygiene, unfortunately, will not help reduce mosquito attacks.
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The fact is that each of us has our own "microbial handwriting", which is determined mainly by genetics. There are approximately 100 trillion microbes in the body. These microbes are the basis of immunity, so remember that too frequent water procedures will not be beneficial, and, of course, will not hide your special smell from the keen sense of smell of a female mosquito.
And what about in winter?
Mosquitoes are most active in summer, especially if it was wet.In autumn, their number becomes noticeably smaller, and by winter they completely disappear from the field of view. Where do mosquitoes hibernate and how do they cope with this time of year?
In fact, you should not worry about little bloodsuckers, since they are able to winter calmly, and at every stage of their development. Eggs, pupae, larvae, and adults retain their full viability in the cold months. They equip themselves with nests in secluded places, which will not be penetrated by frost and freezing wind. These places are:
- hollows of trees;
- cavities under the bark;
- burrows of animals;
- dry caked grass;
- cracks in houses;
- places under stones.
And if you're lucky, mosquitoes in winter can settle in special conditions. These include places created by man, for example, basements, cellars, vegetable stores, outbuildings and, in fact, apartments and private houses. In the latter case, insects do not even break their habitual diet, continuing to feed on the blood of people and animals.
On a note! Some tropical species are able to survive the winter under the ice, and with the arrival of the warm season, they "thaw" and rise into the air in a multimillion blood-sucking cloud. For this reason, spring and summer are especially difficult seasons for the inhabitants of the tundra!
In temperate and northern climates, little vampires endure the winter in a state of diapause, or, in other words, hibernate. At this time, insects do not develop and do not reproduce, all physiological processes decrease, as well as the level of metabolism, morphogenetic processes are suspended.
Blood type
Mosquitoes are famous for their selectivity, looking for the "very" taste of blood. Scientists explain this selective approach by blood group. Some groups are more attracted to them than others, such as the first, especially if it is Rh negative.
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A team of scientists from Japan conducted a small experiment, they tested the reaction of several groups of mosquitoes to people with different blood groups. Most of the mosquitoes circled around the people with the first group. Even those individuals who had their proboscis removed sat on representatives of the first blood group.
Where to take a break from mosquitoes?
Considering the habitat of annoying bloodsuckers, it can be assumed that they live only near water bodies, and therefore a quite reasonable question arises - are there mosquitoes in the mountains. As observations show, these insects exist wherever there is a person, since it is he who is the main source of food for them. Therefore, it will not be possible to take a break from these bloodsuckers even in the mountains.
Although in fairness it is worth noting that for normal life they need certain conditions:
- if the thermometer drops below + 12 ° C, mosquitoes will not be able to fly or bite;
- at temperatures above + 28 ° C, they become noticeably less active;
- These bloodsuckers feel most comfortable at a temperature of + 16 ° C and an air humidity of 80 ... 90%.
The answer to the question - to which floor do the mosquitoes fly - will also be disappointing. In search of an open window behind which a potential victim is hiding, they are able to climb to an impressive height. They can parasitize on the fifth, and ninth, and even on the fourteenth floor. Although in the latter case, their number will be noticeably reduced, since birds also fly at such an altitude, for which insects serve as the basis of the diet.
Reason # 6: red or dark clothing
Entomologist Dr. Jonathan Day of the University of Florida explains: mosquitoes have problems with movement in space even in light winds - they are simply blown away, so they prefer to move in low level flight closer to the ground, and they are used to identifying victims by a silhouette that differs from the horizon. Dark and red silhouettes are much more attractive to mosquitoes, while light colored silhouettes are not as clearly visible to mosquitoes.
Who is the biggest?
The largest mosquito in the world is caramor. This is a real giant, which is the largest member of its family.He lives in a temperate or humid climate, preferring forests and other tree plantations, near which there must be swamps or other bodies of water.
Caramora larvae are a real scourge of agriculture. Giant babies eat living plants and therefore are able to destroy even large plantations. But adults feed on nectar, and in some cases they can do without food for a long time.
The size of the caramor is impressive - its length can reach 6-10 cm! But at the same time, the main part of the body is made up of long legs, and the body itself is rather small. When you meet, this giant can be frightening, but for a person he does not pose any danger.
Large insects
This is not the first time Zhao has caught a huge insect. Not so long ago, a researcher discovered the largest insect in the world - a 64 cm long female stick insect.
Finding unusually large creatures takes knowledge and luck.
“You can only find them if you are familiar with the possible habitats of giant insects,” Zhao said.
He explored every province in China and numerous places in Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, in search of interesting creatures.
More than 800 species of large mosquitoes have been found in China, 100 of them in Sichuan, Zhao said, the country is home to thousands of species of small mosquitoes.
By Louise Moon
Mosquitoes are good!
It would seem, what is the use of mosquitoes? They only fly and bite, while carrying some diseases. But in fact, these insects are unique creatures of nature, according to the laws of which nothing can be just like that.
- Firstly, the mosquito is food for fish, birds, other large insects, newts and many other species of animals, and therefore they are the stability of the food cycle.
- Secondly, these ubiquitous insects occupy far from the last place in the ecological balance, since after turning into an adult insect, they remove important microelements from water bodies and enrich the soil with them after their death.
- Thirdly, males, feeding on nectar, contribute to the pollination of plants, carrying pollen on their paws.
- Fourth, the mosquito, simply feeding on blood, supplies it with anticoagulants, which reduce clotting, and this is useful for the category of people suffering from diseases associated with high platelet levels.
And even if the scientific facts and strong arguments about the benefits of mosquitoes never come to light, you know enough that such a simple and sometimes annoying mosquito will earn your respect.
The main goal of research
Scientists and pharmacists are conducting research to identify and isolate specific elements that attract or repel mosquitoes and mosquitoes to create a versatile bacteriological spray that will protect the skin from mosquito bites.
Well, who among the constant victims of these itchy bloodsuckers would not want to cover themselves from head to toe with harmless bacteria to get rid of the eternal persecution? However, research is progressing painfully slowly, and mosquitoes are famous for their high adaptability, so there is no need to rejoice in advance. So far, no one has canceled the traditional methods of protecting against insects!
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