Why Mosquitoes Bite
Only female mosquitoes bite, and all mosquitoes
live on the sugar found in plant nectar, not on
blood. But there is a reason females seek blood.
Female mosquitoes, unlike males, have a
proboscis. This is a long thin needle-like
built-in syringe located at the mouth. They
use this to impale their victims, in order to
fill their abdomens with blood. Proteins in
the blood are necessary to produce fertile
eggs. Since males cannot produce eggs they
have no need for blood. Females require a
new blood 'meal' for every nest they lay, and
produce about 250 eggs per meal. Aren't
you glad your mosquito bites are so
productive?
Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in a thimble
full of water or the dew created in the leaves
of a magnolia tree. Any insignificant
measurable amounts of water, in bird baths,
old tires, tin cans, lingering puddles of rain,
gutters, catch basins, tree cavities, pine
cones or basically any place that can hold
water, can create harborage sites for
mosquitoes. The eggs may hatch in less
than 3 days, and the entire mosquito life
cycle, from egg, to pupa, to larva to adult,
can be completed in 4-9 days. The eggs of
some species are more resistant to drying
out than others; some even require drying
out before subsequent flooding can induce
them to hatch. These are the ones that can
survive even the harshest drought, finally
hatching when water is again introduced.
