Mosquitoes are small midge-like flies that form the family Culicidae. Females of most species are called ectoparasite whose tube-like mouth (called a proboscis) inserts the hosts skin and suck blood.
The word Mosquito in Spanish means ''little fly'' (formed by mosca and diminutive). They Mostly feed on the blood of various kinds of hosts, mainly vertebrates, including birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and even some type of fish. Very few mosquitoes attack invertebrates, mainly others arthropods.
- COMMON NAME: Mosquito
- SCIENTIFIC NAME: culicidae
- DIET: carnivores
- TYPE: invertebrates
- GROUP NAME: swarm
- AVERAGE LIFE SPAN: 2 weeks to 6 months
- WEIGHT: 0.000088 oz
- SIZE: 0.125 to 0.75
Mosquitoes are species that have been in existence for more than 30 million years. And it seems that during those years mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at locating people to bite. Mosquitoes have a battery of sensors designed to locate their prey, they include:
Visual sensors- Let’s say you’re putting on a cloth that contracts with the background, especially when you move while putting on that cloth, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. They know anything moving is ‘’alive’’ and therefore full of blood.
Heat sensors- Mosquitoes can detect heat by so doing they easily find warm-blooded birds and mammals very easily.
Chemical sensors- Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid as far as 100 feet (36 meters) away. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to allure mosquitoes ( people who don’t sweat much don’t get nearly as many mosquito bites)
Basically, with this many sensors sounds more like a military aircraft than an insect lol.
Adult’s mosquitoes have three basic body parts:
Thorax: This segment is where the two wings and six legs attach, it also contains compound heart, flight muscles, trachioles and some nerve ‘’ganglia’’.
Abdomen: The digestive and excretory organs are found in the abdomen.
Head: This is where all the sensors are, the head contains two compound eyes, antennae to sense chemicals and the mouth parts are known as the proboscis and palpus ( only the females have the proboscis, for biting).
What makes mosquito so deadly?
When we try to debate on the most dangerous animals in the world, there are several animals that come across our minds like the great white shark, or the buffalo. But the title rests with an animal you’d least expect- the mosquito.
They may look tiny, but these insects cause more deaths than any other animal on earth. Peradventure not the mosquito itself, but the diseases it carry along.
Basically only female mosquito’s bites and suck blood, this is because the blood provides nutrients for their eggs. When a mosquito lands, it pierce the skin with two tubes, one of the tubes draws blood, while the other injects and enzyme to help prevent blood clotting.
Mosquitoes find their prey by detecting infrared radiation emitted by the warm blood inside us, thereby observing our movements, using chemical signals.
Mosquitoes suck blood like vampires; we humans take precaution when we come in contact with a blood infected person. But mosquitoes can carry an infection to animals and humans without boundary. Although there 3000 species of mosquitoes on planet earth only a couple hundred feed on human blood.
Mosquitoes spread dieses in different ways
When a mosquito bites, it transfers the virus through its saliva to the victim. They can transmit disease without being affected. About 700 million get a mosquito bone illness annually resulting in greater than one million deaths.
Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include:
- Malaria
- West nile virus
- Zika virus
- Japanese encephalitis
- Dengue fever
- Chikungunya.
Tips to prevent mosquito bites:
- Drain or fill temporary pools of water with dirt.
- Control adult mosquitoes using insecticides
- Eliminate stagnant water in rain gutters, plastic covers, or any other container where mosquitoes can breed.
Thanks for reading. Still yours @Oghie.
Photo credit : @ www.pixabay.com