Interesting facts about mosquito

How do mosquitoes breed?

Like other insects, mosquitoes lay their eggs in water and

hatch from eggs and go through several stages in order to

become adults. The females lay their eggs in water. After

hatching their larva and pupa stages completed entirely in

the water. Once pupa changes into adults, they leave the water

and become full-fledged flying insects. Their life cycle varies

from one to several weeks depending on the species,

temperature, and food availability.

Mosquito life cycle and breeding

Look at some more interesting things from themosquito's perspective

Mosquitoes are the

insects who are

universally hated the

world over. These pesky,

disease-carrying pests

make a living by sucking

the blood out of just

about anything that

moves, including us.

1. Mosquitoes have been since the Jurassic period

It means mosquitoes are around for about 210 million years

old. They have been mentioned throughout history and

mentioned in the works of Aristotle around 300 B.C. and in the

writings of Sidonius Apollinaris in 467 B.C.

2. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal

Anopheles mosquito, in particular, is very dangerous as it

transmits malaria, which accounts more than one million

deaths every year. It is also believed that Alexander the Great

died of malaria in 323 B.C.

3. Mosquitoes don't have tooth

The mosquitoes bite with a

long, pointed mouthparts

which are used for piercing

and sucking. The paired

mandibles and maxillae are

formed into needle-like

structures which are enclosed

by the Labium. It acts like a

tongue and is used to suck up

the blood.

4. Mosquioto sucks blood thrice of its own weight

A mosquito requires a blood

meal to develop her eggs. So,

only female mosquitoes bite,

while the male mosquitoes

feed on nectar as do the

female when she is not full of

eggs. Don't worry. It would

take them about 1.2 million

bites to drain all the blood

from your body.

5. Female mosquitoes lay upto 300 eggs at a time

A female mosquito can lay anywhere upto 300 eggs at one

time. So, it is so important to eliminate all possible breeding

sites or apply larvacide which prevents the larva from

becoming adult mosquitoes.

6. Mosquito lifespan is less than 2 months

On average a mosquito’s life

span is typically 2-3 weeks.

However male mosquitoes

have the shortest lifespan

about 10 days. And because

female mosquitoes find a

hideout for the winter like a

garage, culvert, or attic so

they do have a chance of

surviving upto 6-8 weeks.

7. Mosquitoes do not transmit HIV/AIDS

AIDS causing viruses don't

replicate in mosquitoes

because they not only do

they hold enough blood in

their mouthparts to spread

the disease, but also they

actually digest the virus in

their stomach and brake

down without being passed

on. Thereby, they can't

transmit HIV/AIDS.

8. Dark clothing attracts mosquitoes:

Mosquitoes use their vision and

smell to locate their hosts from a

distance and find a blood meal.

So, they are more attracted

towards dark colour because

they see dark objects more

easily and clear than light

objects. So light color will help

in avoiding unwanted bug bites.

It also keeps you cooler in the

summer heat.

How to protect from mosquitoes?

Might be you are still experiencing the redness, the

swelling and the unbearable itching due to mosquito bites.

Therefore, to keep mosquitoes away from your skin, you

need to keep your residential places always neat and

clean. Such as: always use dustbin and keep cleaning it

regularly. Clearing bushy areas around your homes. Do not

store the garbage or wastage water for long hours near

your residence. So, make good water to drainage to avoid

stagnant water, otherwise it will be more likely to invite

mosquitoes with honor and respect.

Choose your best mosquito repellents

Many people wish to choose best mosquito repellents to

keep mosquitoes away. And so, they sometimes turn to

store and buy insect repellents. But due to these insect

repellents often contain a toxic pesticide, so it is

dangerous to human health. This pesticide is known as

DEET. Infact, heavy exposure to DEET is linked to memory

loss, headache, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain,

tremors and shortness of breath in humans and is

particularly toxic to children. Thus, instead of using this

pesticide, there are so many more effective ways to keep

mosquitoes away from skin.

Use mosquito nets for bed

Mosquitoes attack mostly when

you are sleeping in night. In

that case, you can use

mosquito net for bed. It is also

one of the best repellent which

has the only aim to provide

protection against mosquitoes,

even flies and insects which

causes multiple diseases for

example malaria, dengue,

encephalitis and yellow fever,

etc.

Importance of using mosquito nets

Malaria and other diseases are communicated by the bite of

mosquitoes, eventually causes higher risk of death in

children and new born babies. Using mosquito net for bed

reduces such incidence among them by anywhere from 15-

70%. Based on the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey

(UDHS), it is estimated that only 13% of households in

Uganda own a mosquito net and 8% of under fives usually

use them. In order to avoid the mosquito bite, these nets are

treated with insecticides which provides effective and better

protection by keeping the mosquitoes away and also killing

them.

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