Mosquitoe

The females of most species have piercing and sucking mouth parts and they must feed at least once upon mammalian blood before their eggs can develop properly. During the blood meals the females may either acquire or transmit various disease organisms. It is she who produces the characteristic whining sound by vibrating thin horny membranes on the thorax. The eggs are laid singly or glued together to form rafts, usually in stagnant water in ponds, pools, open containers, and other aquatic habitats. Mosquitoes have become adapted to extremes of climate and are found far north of the Arctic Circle, where they winter as larvae frozen in the ice. Mosquitoes are the vectors of several diseases and health experts are warning travellers to take precautions against being bitten by mosquitoes amid a worldwide increase in dengue fever.

Mosquitoe: Description & Life Cycle

Mosquitioes are found all over the world except in Antarctica. Of the 32 species found in Britain, only 3-4 bite humans.

Description:

Thin, slender-bodied insect
4-10mm long
characteristic scale-covered wings
long proboscis (feeding mouth-part)

Life cycle:

female lays several hundred eggs on the surface of water
eggs hatch in 2-3 days and larvae feed on organic matter in the water unyil they pupate about a week later
pupae live at the surface of the water for 2-3 days before metamorphosing into adults

One of the first things that adult mosquitoes do is seek a mate, mate and then feed. Male mosquitoes have short mouth parts and feed on plant nectar. In contrast, female mosquitoes have a long proboscis that they use to bite animals and humans and feed on their blood (the blood provides proteins that the females need to lay eggs). After they feed, females lay their eggs (they need a blood meal each time they lay eggs). Females continue this cycle and live anywhere from many days to weeks (longer over the winter); males usually live only a few days after mating. The life cycles of mosquitoes vary with the species and environmental conditions.

Worldwide, there are many diseases that can be caused by a mosquito bite, including:

Malaria
Yellow Fever
Encephalitis
Dengue Fever

The concern is that as global warming increases, some of these diseases will impact Europe and Britain.