Mosquito Facts
Mosquito Facts
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Interesting Mosquito Facts: |
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Mosquito is a miniature insect that can reach up to ¾ inch in length and 0.000088 ounces of weight. |
Body of mosquito is divided in three segments: head, thorax and abdomen. |
Mosquito has a pair of antenna on its head. They detect odors which facilitate identification of the prey and sites that are suitable for breeding. |
Mosquitoes have large compound eyes that are composed of huge number of individual lenses. |
Mosquitoes have six legs and one pair of wings. They move their wings 450 to 600 times in just one second, which creates typical buzzing sound. |
Mosquitoes fly at a speed of only 1 to 1.5 miles per hour. They can travel up to 7.5 miles per night. |
Mosquitoes are crepuscular animals (they are active mostly at dusk and dawn). |
Mosquitoes transmit numerous diseases such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever, encephalitis, elephantiasis and West Nile virus. |
Mosquitoes detect their victims by the body odor, temperature and exhaled carbon dioxide from a distance of 70 feet. |
Scientists discovered that certain types of food such as mint, fruit and caramelized chocolate may alter mosquito’s sensitivity to a carbon dioxide and potentially save the victim from mosquito’s bite. People that like to drink beer are especially attractive to mosquitoes. |
Only female mosquitoes suck blood. They require proteins from blood for development of eggs. Male mosquitoes feed on pollen and nectar. |
Biting apparatus of females consists of two tubes. One tube releases enzyme which prevents clotting of the blood during the meal. Other tube is used for sucking of the blood. |
Red, itchy bump on the skin (that can be seen after mosquito bite) represents allergic reaction to the saliva of mosquito. |
Mosquito undergoes 4 developmental stages in their life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupa and adult insect. Development depends on the environmental conditions and temperature. It may last from 5 to 40 days. First three developmental stages take place in the water. Because of that, people try to eradicate mosquitoes by destroying their wet habitats. |
Lifespan of mosquito depends on the species. It may last from several weeks to few months. |
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