The mosquito gets its name from the Spanish and Portuguese word for little fly. Mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycle: egg, larvae, pupae, and adult or imago. Females lay their eggs in standing water, which can be a salt-marsh, a lake, a puddle, a natural reservoir on a plant, or an artificial water container such as a plastic bucket.
The Mosquito or Little Fly
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The first three stages are aquatic and last five to fourteen days:
- eggs hatch to become larvae
- then pupae
- the adult mosquito emerges from the pupae as it floats on the water surface
- adults live for 4 - 8 weeks
Lifecycle of The Mosquito
Mosquitoes have mouthparts that are adapted for piercing the skin of plants and animals. Males typically feed on nectar and plant juices, the female needs protein to produce eggs and she has to obtain nutrients from a 'blood meal' before she can produce eggs.
There are about 3,500 species of mosquitoes found throughout the world, in some species of mosquitoes, the female feed on humans, and are therefore carriers for a number of infectious diseases affecting millions of people per year. More deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other animal. They can carry a number of deadly diseases, which include yellow fever, encephalitis, dengue fever, including malaria.The carry heartworm which can be fatal to your dog. Some scientists believe that eradicating the mosquitoes would not have serious consequences for any ecosystems.
