Mosquitoes

The word 'mosquito' originally comes from the Spanish word meaning, "little fly."  Mosquitoes resemble other types of flies called crane flies and chironomid flies which they are sometimes confused with by the casual observer.  Notably, a mosquito has four stages in it's life-cycle: they are egg. larva, pupa, and adult. 

Adult females lay their eggs in standing water, such as salt marshes, a lake, a natural reservoir on a plant, an artificial water container such as a plastic bucket or even in a small water dish underneath a potted plant, or a puddle. In their lifecycle the first three stages are aquatic and last 5–14 days, depending on the species.  The eggs hatch to become larvae, then pupae.  The adult mosquito emerges from the pupa as it floats at the water surface, and then live as adults for 4–8 weeks.

The mosquito mouth has parts that are adapted for piercing the skin of both plants and animals. While males typically feed on the nectar and plant juices, the female also needs to obtain nutrients from blood. 

There are about 3,000 species of mosquitoes found throughout the world. In some species of mosquito, the females feed on humans, and are responsible for spreading a number of infectious diseases.

Did you know?.....

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......
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