Washed up on the North Carolina coast strange objects. In order for people not to be afraid of them, environmentalists talked about their origin.
The little black "bags" littering the North Carolina coastline these days aren't pieces of plastic. Because of their unusual appearance, people call them “mermaid’s purse” or even “devil’s purse”, but they are no worse: these are the egg capsules of cartilaginous fish. Several species of sharks and chimeras and only one family of rays reproduce in this way: diamondbacks (lat. Rajidae).
Based on studies of fossil remains, scientists have concluded that in the past Rajidae reproduced by viviparity, like all other modern rays, but at some point the reproduction of their genus followed the path of other cartilaginous fish.
Four embryos inside an egg capsule
Fertilized eggs are enclosed in quadrangular capsules consisting of collagen threads. With the help of horny processes, the capsule is attached to the bottom, to a plant or other water body. Nearby there are small slots through which oxygen enters the capsule and through which excretory products are removed. Egg capsules washed ashore are usually empty: the young have already hatched.
The total number of capsules and eggs inside them depends on the type of diamondback stingray. In this case, as experts assume based on the size of the capsule, there was one egg inside. The maximum known number of eggs in particularly large individuals is 7.
Scientists ask people who notice egg capsules in the water not to touch them: this may interrupt the incubation process. But the empty capsules are of scientific interest: with their help, one can take into account the number and diversity of cartilaginous fish that reproduce in this way.
These blood-sucking insects are very annoying and in pairs greatly annoy a person. Let's look in detail at the question of how mosquitoes reproduce and why do they bite us?
Article structure
Why do they bite us and how does this affect mosquito reproduction?
The fact is that human sweat contains lactic acid; bloodsuckers sense it at a great distance. For this reason, mosquitoes torment people most severely during the hot season. Being bitten, people, without knowing it, encourage the reproduction of mosquitoes and create very comfortable conditions for them. Thanks to the saturation of mosquito females with blood, a new population of viable and strong individuals appears.
Not everyone knows, but mosquitoes reproduce even if they do not bite people or animals. In this case, they have to expend the resources of their own body to form eggs. As a result, the offspring of mosquitoes are born weak, and after laying the insect itself dies. Until the time of laying comes, the female constantly returns to the victim and bites her, after each digestion of blood.
In order to get rid of mosquitoes, you need to start with the original cause of the nuisance: reproduction. Understanding how mating occurs and what individuals eat will help you choose the right place to travel. And avoid many problems. Mosquitoes are harmful to humans and effective fight With them, to begin with, it will be useful to know how mosquitoes reproduce.
Mosquito mating process
- The ideal place for mating is a stagnant body of water; the males accumulate near them and wait for the female.
- Females emit a thin squeak, thereby attracting males, who feel it with the help of their antennae; they make this characteristic sound with their wings.
- Individuals gather in a swarm in which only male mosquitoes move, they drag the female into it and mating occurs.
- The female who finds herself inside the swarm is fertilized by the male mosquito who first grabbed her.
The process takes a very long time a short time, at the end the mosquito returns to the other males. The internal genital organs are hidden in the body of the mosquito; in females these are the ovaries and ovipositor, in the form of a short tube, and in males these are the testes. Fertilization also occurs internally; during sexual intercourse, mosquito sperm enters the female, into her reproductive tract.
How mosquitoes manage to mate on the fly
Mosquitoes mate during the swarming process. Males have special appendages in the genital area, with the help of which they hold the female while flying.
What happens after the female is fertilized?
The female mosquito feeds on the blood of mammals very actively, as this is required by the process of development and formation of eggs. The male does not have special piercing bristles inside his proboscis, so he remains a vegetarian. With the oral apparatus of a male individual it is simply impossible to bite. In females, the oral apparatus is fully formed; they penetrate the skin and inject special secret, preventing blood clotting. After mating, females lay eggs on the surface of the water.
There are two ways in which females lay eggs:
- Separately, one egg at a time
- “Packs” of eggs glued together.
Their number is usually from 150 to 400. Female mosquitoes can lay about 1,200 eggs over their lifetime. After the breeding process, the male mosquito dies. Females lay eggs every 2-3 days during the active period.
Is mosquito breeding the same in indoor and outdoor spaces?
Swarms of mosquitoes consist of huge numbers, reaching hundreds of thousands. Before the mating process begins, males and females feed the same way - plant sap and nectar. Mosquitoes most often breed near water or very wet places, lowlands. It is swarming that facilitates the meeting of male and female in open space. In urban conditions, the behavior of the mosquito and the meeting with the female occurs without swarming; this is possible even in test tube conditions. This type is called stenogamy.
Egg
Mosquitoes prefer places with a lot of plant debris, such as muddy banks. For unhindered reproduction, it is important that there are no waves, otherwise the eggs will not hatch. A menacing number of mosquitoes appears at the beginning of summer, when high temperatures set in. After winter, the pupae, which have turned into mosquitoes, quickly begin the mating process. Massive laying of eggs occurs, 20-30 eggs at a time. The warmer the water, the faster the incubation period occurs. It takes at least 40 hours for the eggs to hatch.
Larva
After the eggs hatch, the busy part of the mosquito's life cycle begins. The mosquito larva develops sequentially, in a number of molts. The mosquito larva sheds its outer shell three times during development. Metamorphosis during mosquito development includes four stages. The larvae swim alone in the water and feed on energy very intensely. They have a mouthparts and active brushes inside them. If it is warm around and there are no fry that feed on the larvae, then future mosquitoes grow quickly. This is the most important stage in development. The larvae hang near the surface of the water in calm state. Their diet includes a variety of microscopic organisms, unicellular algae, and parts of rotting plants.
Doll
After the larvae reach maximum size, pupation occurs inside the shell. During this stage of development, mosquitoes do not feed, they develop thanks to the energy reserve that they gained while still being a larva, and the pupae breathe thanks to the tubes that come out. A movable abdomen with a tail extending from the cephalothorax allows it to swim away from danger. The pupa is similar in appearance to a small tadpole; only the abdomen remains free from the shell; the front part of the body is covered with a common shell. The curve of the body is shaped like a comma. The pupa in the water exposes the front end of its body, and not the back, unlike the larva, and is suspended on the surface. The color of a newborn mosquito is almost black. Pupae that have already matured burst above the water, and adult individuals are born from them. Until the wings dry out and straighten out, the mosquito does not fly into the air, but clings to the pupal shell it has abandoned.
Adult
The last stage in the mosquito's life cycle is the transformation from pupa to adult. They are called imago. The only goal of a sexually mature and fully formed individual is the reproduction of offspring. It is impossible to say exactly how long the life cycle of a mosquito lasts, since this is influenced by the diversity of species, different conditions, in which individuals live, it is important how filled the environment is with food for the larvae, the speed of transformation into a pupa depends on this.
When a female chooses a victim, she focuses not only on the smell of lactic acid, but also on carbon dioxide exhaled by a person or any other mammal. Also, the female mosquito reacts to light, preferring dark rooms, which is why they are mainly nocturnal. Males live less time than females, on average 19 days.
Knowing the peculiarities of development and how mosquitoes reproduce, you can begin to take measures to destroy them. The total destruction of mosquitoes is called disinfestation. You can fight insects in both closed and open spaces. It is necessary to cut off oxygen to the larvae. An effective eradication process will include eliminating mosquito populations both outdoors and indoors. It is necessary to eliminate dampness in the premises. Most often, juveniles develop in basements.
Do you also dislike mosquitoes buzzing obsessively over your ear at night? Are you looking for ways to get rid of them without getting bitten? Do you know which mosquitoes bite - females or males, and why these insects love human and animal blood so much? Do not know? Then let's figure out why bloodsuckers bite. Who do we actually kill by “slapping” the body at the moment of the bite? And at the same time, we will find out how mosquitoes reproduce, and whether they can do this in captivity in an apartment or house.
Know the blood-sucking insect by sight: description and detailed photos
These insects have a body length from 4 to 13.5 mm. They have:
Knowing what mosquitoes eat, it becomes interesting how the process of drinking blood occurs. U adult the entire oral organ is protected by the lower tube-shaped lip. Hidden inside are jaws that look like stiletto files. It is with them that the insect makes an incision in the skin of the victim. The trunk with bristles is immersed as deeply as possible into the resulting wound. Blood is sucked out through them. Since the male mosquito has an underdeveloped jaw, it does not bite. Only females are considered and are bloodsuckers. 
Where do mosquitoes live and how do they reproduce?
Now it is easy to answer the question of what a mosquito is - an animal or an insect, and who actually attacks the “warm-blooded prey.” It's time to figure out where the bloodsuckers live. All over the globe. The spread of species (there are over 2950 of them) occurred thanks to humans. The mosquito simply followed the “food source”. Therefore, there are virtually no places where there are no mosquitoes - where there are no warm-blooded creatures and humans. About 97 species of insects live in Russia. 
The most comfortable living conditions are humid and warm tropical parts of the world. But there are arctic representatives of the family that feel great in the upper part (thermal layers) permafrost. If we consider how mosquitoes are born, we can distinguish four stages of development:
To mate, the female calls the male to her. This happens through a squeak - an adult bloodsucker makes a thin and ringing sound using its wings. The male, having caught it with his hypersensitive antennae, looks for a swarm. Here the female and male mosquito will be able to give birth. The male prefers the oldest female (the quality of the squeak depends on age). The process does not happen alone. To produce offspring, couples ready for reproduction necessarily gather in a swarm. Now you know how mosquitoes mate, let’s find out what kind of offspring they produce.
What kind of offspring do insects produce?
One adult female lays up to 150 eggs. Clutches occur every 3 days, sometimes more often. But this is taking into account that the female will regularly feed on blood. Without it, egg reproduction does not occur. There are only a few subspecies of insects that produce offspring “without blood.” I wonder how mosquitoes appear in this case? In these subspecies, offspring are few in number and appear rarely. 
Why is blood needed? It contains proteins and enzymes, which are building materials for the formation of the egg shell, as well as nutrients. Now we can answer the question of whether female or male mosquitoes bite their victims.
The female lays eggs in low-flow or stagnant reservoirs. The eggs are placed under the surface of the water. The offspring of insects feel comfortable both on wet soils and in flooded reservoirs. As a last resort, the female can lay eggs on objects or plants that are abundantly washed with water. Therefore, if you are interested in the question of whether mosquitoes can breed in an apartment, then the answer will be positive. An excellent place for procreation would be a pot with a frequently watered flower. 
How long do blood-sucking insects live?
Having found out how mosquitoes reproduce in an apartment, we will determine their lifespan. Under favorable conditions, insects live up to 10-12 months. In comfortable conditions (moisture and warmth), bloodsuckers do not interrupt their life cycle. But if conditions are unfavorable, then mosquito breeding stops. But adult individuals are able to live and maintain their activity for 6-8 months. At the same time, Arctic insects live for about 1 week or 1.5 weeks.
Insects easily tolerate:
- low temperatures;
- impact of climatic precipitation;
- rare feedings.
If you are wondering how mosquitoes breed in winter. The answer is simple. Adults find warm and damp places - basements, barns, etc. They spend the winter here and, with the first favorable conditions, begin to actively search for victims and reproduce.
How do male insects survive?
Feeding on other living creatures, insects themselves are a delicacy. They are very loved:
- insectivorous birds;
- fish - it would be difficult to list who eats mosquitoes. There are about 200 species of fish that feast on both adults and their larvae;
- mammals;
- crustaceans and arachnids;
- amphibians.
Among those that feed on mosquitoes, there are even carnivorous plants. These include flycatcher, rosewort, sundew, bladderwort, and butterwort. Insects are attracted through a sweet secretion, the smell of which is carried by the wind.
It is interesting to find out what mosquitoes eat in the forest if there are no sources of blood nearby. Some subspecies cling to animals, while others drink nectar. But if there is a need to give offspring. Insects fly out in search of a source of nutritious blood. And the cycle resumes.
Origin of the word "mosquito".
How mosquitoes reproduce.
Life cycle of mosquitoes.
Who do mosquitoes prefer to bite?
Mosquito flight speed.
How mosquitoes spend the winter.
Monuments to Mosquitoes
Origin of the word "mosquito""
There are several versions:
1. The word "mosquito" comes from Sanskrit "kamaari", which means "enemies of the God of Love Kama", the young Cupid who loved to sit naked in the bushes, with a bow and arrow in his hands.
2. If you divide given word thus: ko-k>mar-mar. Then KO - KЪ in this word has the same meaning as KTO, MAR - MAR - is the noun “mara” - “fog, darkness, darkness”. Taking into account that fog, or rather a damp and humid environment, is the favorite habitat of mosquitoes, it turns out that a mosquito is one who lives in a humid environment, or rather mosquitoes lay eggs there and raise their offspring...
3. According to the third version - KЪ MAR - to mara, that is, the one who is with Mara, the servant of the goddess Marana - the supplier of blood.
How mosquitoes reproduce and what is the role of the male
Many people have probably observed mosquitoes swarming in nature. In the warm, quiet summer evenings, before sunset, somewhere near a reservoir, near the crown of trees or along paths in a meadow, many observed mosquitoes swarming. The literature describes swarms that reached a width of 1-5 m and a height of 7 m.
The swarm consists of only males, but mating occurs at the moment when the female is near the swarm, and it is the male who looks for the female, and not vice versa. This type of mating is known as eurygamy, it requires a lot of space and involves swarming. Eurygamy (mating during swarming) is characteristic of many mosquito species. The behavior of the urban mosquito is completely different: the meeting of sexes and their mating can occur without swarming, which becomes possible in small cages and even in vitro. This type of mating is called stenogamy (mating without swarming). This feature of the reproductive behavior of the urban mosquito allows it to successfully reproduce in basements, which are often of limited size.
Clusters consist of a huge number of mosquitoes - tens, or even hundreds of thousands. Mosquitoes huddle in place and make ringing noises that attract females. Mosquito wings make this sound only when they oscillate at a frequency of over 594 beats per second. When sitting, these mosquitoes twitch their legs. These are bell mosquitoes. Oral apparatus in bells it is not developed, they do not feed and live 3-7 days.
A mature male mosquito uses its antennae, which serve as hearing organs, to detect a female. These antennas have their own special functions. At their ends there are thin hairs that are highly sensitive to sounds made by the female.
In addition, the male has special appendages near the genitals that help him hold the female during mating in the air.
A female flying into a swarm is fertilized by the one who manages to grab her first. Mating lasts a short time, and the male mosquito returns to his group. And from this moment (the moment of fertilization), the female mosquito needs blood for the development of eggs.
The internal genital organs are hidden in the mosquito's body. In females these are the ovaries, in males these are the testes. The external genitalia of male mosquitoes have a complex structure. Identification of many species of mosquitoes is possible only due to differences in the structure of the male genitalia. The ovipositor in female mosquitoes looks like a short tube. Fertilization in mosquitoes is internal, that is, sperm during sexual intercourse enters the female's genital tract (external fertilization, for example, in fish - they pour milk on their eggs).
Life cycle of mosquitoes
Mosquitoes go through 4 stages during their life: egg > larva > pupa > adult.
After mating, the female mosquito looks for a living object and drinks blood. After this, the blood begins to be digested and at the same time the eggs mature. When the time comes, the female lays eggs. Any small puddle, hole, ditch or depression filled with water can serve as a place for laying eggs; mosquitoes willingly lay eggs in open barrels, basins, troughs and other containers with water. Moreover, mosquitoes find any bodies of water based on air humidity.
Females can lay eggs two ways:
*one egg separately,
* whole “packs” of eggs glued together.
In one go, the female can lay approximately 120-150 eggs.
The duration of egg development depends on the water temperature and usually ranges from 40 hours to 8 days. Thus, after a few days, the eggs hatch into fairly mobile larvae 1-2 mm in size, their body consists of a head, chest and abdomen. The larvae feed on small organisms living in water, eating them from the surface of plants and various objects. And they grow very quickly.
 mosquito larva |
It is very easy to detect larvae in a small body of water. In their normal state, mosquito larvae “dangle” upside down under the surface of the water. But if they are frightened or if there is disturbance in the water, the larvae immediately “break away” and go into the depths with characteristic zigzag movements. After a short time, the larva will certainly float to the surface of the water: the supply of air in its body requires constant refreshment. Hanging at the surface of the water, the larvae absorb it through a special breathing tube with a water-repellent tip. The larvae of bell mosquitoes are known as bloodworms and serve as important food for fish. |
 Bloodworm (Mosquito larva Chironomidas siu Teudipedae) red color |
In the larval state, the mosquito molts 4 times, after the 4th molt it turns into a chrysalis. The body of the pupa is curved like a comma and consists of a wider cephalothorax and a tapering, tucked abdomen. The pupa can move, swims very well, faster than the larva, using energetic movements of the abdomen. If nothing frightens the pupa, it remains for a long time under the very surface of the water, putting out small horns - breathing tubes. A disturbed pupa can quickly sink to depth. The pupa has a peculiarity: it can only be at depth in motion, otherwise it floats to the surface, like a cork, since it is lighter than water. At the end of the “pupa” phase, it changes color: from light brown to almost black. |
 Mosquito pupa |
The duration of development of the larva and pupa is influenced by the water temperature and the characteristics of this species. A very complex process takes place inside the pupa for 2.5 - 4.5 days, as a result of which an adult mosquito appears ready to fly. (imago). Upon completion of this process, the skin on the back of the pupa bursts, and through the gap that appears, first the head, then the chest of the mosquito, and finally the wings and limbs are released. After a few minutes it flies to the coastal vegetation. The males always appear first. They gather at the breeding sites and form swarms, waiting for their “brides.” In fertilized females, the blood-sucking instinct awakens. A hungry fertilized female can “smell” people and animals at a distance of up to 2-3 km. In one sucking session, a female mosquito can drink more blood than its original weight. After laying eggs, the female becomes aggressive again, searches for prey again, and the cycle repeats. |
Once saturated with blood, interest in food disappears until the next batch of eggs matures and is laid. After each egg laying, a significant part of the mosquitoes die.
The lifespan of a female is usually 2-3 weeks, but can reach 114-119 days, as it directly depends on the air temperature and the availability of food. The lifespan of males is much shorter.
The development process of a mosquito from laying eggs to an adult lasts 15-60 days and also depends on temperature environment.
During the summer (a warm period of time, different in different places), 3-4 generations of mosquitoes grow in mid-latitudes, and 6-8 in the southern regions. Mosquitoes go to winter in the imago phase (fertilized females), larvae overwinter in more or less warm places: caves, tree hollows, burrows, basements, residential apartments, staircases.
By the way, recent observations show that poor living conditions only increase the growth of mosquito populations and life expectancy. Adaptability and changes that have occurred since basement mosquitoes no longer fit into the usual framework for science. Several key features in their lifestyle have changed:
- the city basement mosquito has acquired the ability to live and reproduce in dirty water;
- for the mating process, mosquitoes no longer need to form a swarm - they have adapted to a limited space;
- female mosquitoes have acquired the ability to lay eggs without being saturated with blood. The mosquito, after the pupal stage, can produce viable offspring.
Why do mosquitoes bite?
Mosquitoes bite to breed (produce eggs). Mosquitoes need blood to lay eggs, so the egg laying cycle is directly dependent on blood consumption. From this it becomes obvious that only female mosquitoes need blood, while males are indifferent to it. Just one drop of blood gives life to hundreds of mosquito eggs.
But in fact, not all mosquitoes suck the blood of animals and people. Some of them feed on plant juices and nectar, while the above-mentioned bell-bellied mosquitoes do not feed at all.
Who bites?
Only female mosquitoes bite. All males (without exception) known species mosquitoes feed exclusively on plant foods (nectar and pollen of flowers) and do not make a living by sucking blood, but they also itch disgustingly. Thus, they do not consume proteins (which are contained in the blood), but live exclusively on carbohydrates. But females, if there is nowhere to get blood, they temporarily become vegetarians, although in this case they can no longer lay eggs.
Who's squeaking?
When the mating period begins, the “mosquitoes” call the “mosquitoes” with a characteristic, very high-pitched sound, reminiscent of an ordinary squeak that is made with the help of their wings. Mosquitoes pick up sound vibrations with their antennae. Female mosquitoes squeak a little more thinly than males, and young mosquitoes do not squeak as much as older ones. And males recognize these differences and choose more mature females. In general, whoever squeaks better gets his gentleman.
How mosquitoes find their victims, and even at night?
Special sensors on the antennae, which are very sensitive, help the female blood-sucking mosquito find a suitable victim.
- to ordinary thermal radiation emanating from a living being. Mosquitoes see heat radiation. Moreover, open areas of the human body are warmer and mosquitoes sense this.
- to metabolic products of humans or animals: carbon dioxide and certain acids, for example uric acid, lactic acid.
Mosquitoes can smell the smell of lactic acid contained in sweat from 3 kilometers away. But even if you decide to outwit the villains by using perfume, and even more so if it contains musk, this is tantamount to waving a poster and shouting: “come on, I’m the sweetest.” Advice: do not use cosmetics with a very strong smell: perfume, hairspray, deodorant, soap, lipstick.
Who gets bitten?
Mosquitoes are actually gourmets; what mosquitoes like most is:
- blood in people with the first and second blood groups;
- blood in children (due to delicate thin skin);
- female blood. Moreover, among women, they prefer those who have started having dangerous days for conception - days 13 - 18 of the cycle, and pregnant women. This is explained by the fact that insects smell the “smell” of cholesterol, the level of which increases in women during hormonal changes.
- blood of obese people, heart patients with atherosclerosis.
There is some comforting news. In all likelihood, mosquito bite marks will soon be equated with evidence of passionate love - hickeys. In England, biologists have determined that more temperamental people are several times more likely to be attacked by bloodsucking mosquitoes than sexually cold people. High level The content of sex hormones in human blood (testosterone in men, estrogen in women) increases the attractiveness of the victim in the eyes of a mosquito.
Mosquito flight speed
Typically, a mosquito's flight speed is 3.2 km/h.
Flight duration The distance of a mosquito is highly dependent on the species and can range from a few hundred meters to 100 km (with the help of air jets). The mosquito belongs to that group of insects that are considered good flyers.
How do mosquitoes winter?
Mosquitoes are able to endure winter at any stage of their development: as a larva, pupa, or adult. Mosquito eggs can remain viable for a long time, and even if the moist environment in which they were laid is overtaken by drought, the larvae will hatch as soon as the environment around them becomes moist, at least after 2-3 years.
Mosquitoes can overwinter both in natural shelters (in tree hollows, under bark, animal burrows, in dry grass, caves and cracks, etc.) and in man-made shelters (cellars, vegetable stores, unheated outbuildings and basements) . Most mosquitoes do not feed on blood in winter.
What are mosquitoes for?
It’s as if mosquitoes were specially created just to annoy us. And when it became known that they are responsible for the transmission of a huge number of diseases, the mosquito began to seem like a real curse.
Meanwhile, mosquitoes are a necessary component of the natural balance, and no matter how much you scold them, we would regret their disappearance even more bitterly. The fact is that tiny mosquitoes are links in a larger system, a biocenosis. But here everything matters: the atmosphere, and water regime, and soil, and microorganisms, and animals. If one of the links is excluded, all subsequent ones will suffer, and the balance in nature will be disrupted. For example, in the Arctic, where most northern birds nest during the short, cold summers, mosquito larvae are often their only source of food.
But even those mosquitoes and larvae that managed to avoid becoming food for birds or fish will still live for good reason. Myriads of insects carry tons of chemical elements: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, boron - which are so necessary for plants. It is believed that mosquito clouds are sometimes the only biological transport for some microelements, without which both blades of grass and mighty trees lose their strength.
By transmitting infections, mosquitoes serve as an important stabilizer of ecosystems, since they regulate animal populations, just like predators.
Mosquito monuments in different cities of the world
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Mosquito Monument
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Monument to the mosquito in Salekhard, Tyumen region.
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Monument to a mosquito in Novosibirsk near the State Art Museum on Sverdlov Street
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In Berdyansk (Ukraine) there is a monument to the bell mosquito, since it is the bell mosquito, or rather its larva, the bloodworm, that restores medicinal properties silt in the Sea of Azov, on the shore of which Berdyansk is located. The mosquito is even protected, pursuing the illegal extraction of bloodworms in the estuaries for sale to aquarists. The bell mosquito has important in the ecosystem and when fighting it, it is useful to remember this so as not to repeat the sad experience of Chinese sparrows. In the city you can buy a badge with a picture of a mosquito and the inscription “I belong!” They say it helps - they don't bite
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Another mosquito monument is in the city of Komarno (there are cities with this name in Slovakia and Canada. In which of them the mosquito monument was erected, it was not possible to clarify). The steel statue was made in 1984 and has a wingspan of 5 meters. The largest mosquito monument in the world
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Mosquito Monument in Suwon (South Korea)
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This mosquito lives in Alaska
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Warning sign in the forest
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Although it is a very positive insect, there is certainly little positive that can be said about the hero of today’s article – the mosquito. But you can say a lot of interesting things, for example, the mosquito is a very ancient representative of the fauna of our planet, these small flying bloodsuckers bothered dinosaurs, and even in our time they are no less annoying.
Mosquito: description, structure, characteristics. What does a mosquito look like?
The mosquito belongs to the order Diptera and the family of blood-sucking mosquitoes. Mosquitoes have lived on Earth for as much as 145 million years.
The mosquito has thin body from 4 to 14 mm in length. The wings of a mosquito are transparent, they reach up to 3 cm in diameter and are covered with small scales. The mosquito's abdomen consists of ten segments. Long legs mosquitoes end in two claws.
The color of a mosquito, in addition to the usual black or brown, can also be very unusual; green, yellow, orange and red mosquitoes are found in nature.
Interesting fact: among the large family of mosquitoes, there are also wingless species.
Mosquitoes also have a kind of antenna, consisting of 15 parts, on which the olfactory organs and auditory receptors are located, working on the principle of a temperature sensor. It is with the help of such an antenna that the mosquito finds its victim.
How long do mosquitoes live?
A very curious fact is that female mosquitoes live much longer than males, whose average lifespan is only 17-19 days. The lifespan of a female depends on the ambient temperature and can range from 40 to 120 days. True, given that it is female mosquitoes that suck blood, their lives are often ended prematurely...
Where do mosquitoes live?
Almost everywhere, with the exception of the always cold Antarctica, but these insects are most common in areas with hot and humid climate, where they remain active for all year round. In temperate latitudes during the winter cold they fall into hibernation, awakening with the arrival of spring. It is interesting that even in the Arctic, during those few weeks when it gets warm, mosquitoes breed with terrible force and are very annoying to the herds there.
What do mosquitoes eat?
It’s probably no secret to anyone that only female mosquitoes suck blood, while males are completely harmless creatures. Male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar or plant sap.
But for the reproduction of offspring, females need protein food, which they get from the blood of both people and animals.
How a mosquito bites
Sitting on the skin of their victim, female mosquitoes gnaw a hole in the skin with sharp jaws, plunge their proboscis into it, through which they suck blood. Simultaneously with the bite, special saliva is injected into the wound, which prevents the blood from clotting; it is this that causes allergic reaction in the form of itching, redness of the skin and swelling.
Are mosquitoes dangerous for humans?
Yes, and it’s not just the swelling and unpleasant itching caused by mosquito bites, but the fact that many mosquitoes can be carriers of dangerous viruses and infections. Particularly dangerous are mosquitoes that live in the tropics of Asia, Africa and South America, since they can be carriers of such dangerous diseases as malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, Zika virus, West Nile fever, etc.
Enemies of mosquitoes
Of course, mosquitoes themselves also have natural conditions There are many enemies, and they and their larvae are a tasty treat for many insects, birds, fish and amphibians: frogs, newts, salamanders, dragonflies, spiders, aquatic .
It is also very interesting that the larvae of mosquitoes often feed on the larvae of insects such as the swimming beetle and dragonfly.
Difference between female and male mosquito
Male and female mosquito, what is the difference between them in appearance. First of all, in the structure of the oral organ - the male’s jaws are underdeveloped, because he does not need to gnaw through the skin to drink blood.
Types of mosquitoes, photos and names
In nature there are a great variety of different types mosquitoes, we will describe the most interesting of them:
Common mosquito (squeaker)
It is the most common representative of the mosquito family. It lives over a wide geographic range; it is these mosquitoes that often bother us during forest picnics, walks near water bodies, or even just at home.
Centipede mosquito (caramora)
These mosquitoes live exclusively in places with high humidity: near ponds, swamps, and in shady thickets. They are large in size for mosquitoes - reaching 4-8 cm in length. And these mosquitoes are also safe for humans, since they feed exclusively on nectar and plant juices, but they can cause harm to farmland and forest plantings.
Anopheles mosquito
Chionei (winter mosquitoes)
These mosquitoes are similar at the same time to large spiders and for centipedes. However, they differ from both of them in their way of life. They differ from other mosquitoes in their ability to tolerate cold and therefore winter mosquitoes can be found even in winter.
Also known as the bell mosquito. It is a harmless representative of the mosquito family, as it feeds exclusively on plant foods. It lives mainly along the banks of water bodies. It differs from other mosquitoes in its appearance– has a yellowish-green color with long limbs.
Mosquito breeding
The life cycle of a mosquito consists of four stages of development:
- Egg: every 2-3 days the female lays 30 to 150 eggs in the water, which mature in 2 to 8 days.
- Mosquito larva: emerges from an egg, then lives in a body of water and feeds on microorganisms there. Breathes air through a special tube. During its development and formation, it goes through 4 molts until it finally turns into a pupa.
- Pupa: its development also occurs in water and lasts up to 5 days. As it matures, it changes color, becoming black.
- Imago: is an already adult mosquito living on land.
First, the males fly out into the light, having gathered in a swarm, they wait for females to mate. After mating, the fertilized female goes in search of blood, which she needs to lay her eggs.
How to get rid of mosquitoes at home
Sometimes mosquitoes have a bad habit of entering houses, bothering people in every possible way. As a means of protection against mosquitoes, people have developed many means, among which special mosquito nets are very useful, preventing mosquitoes from entering the house through open windows.
One more effective means against mosquitoes there may be special repellents, substances that emit odors that repel mosquitoes, although their disadvantage may be the fact that the smells of repellents can have a bad effect not only on mosquitoes, but also on people.
As folk remedy To combat mosquitoes, a pot of geranium is quite suitable, the smell of which also repels these flying bloodsuckers.
- It was the mosquito that played a key role in the good old science fiction film "Park Jurassic period“, through blood found in an ancient mosquito trapped in amber, scientists were able to access the DNA of dinosaurs and thus “resurrect” these prehistoric lizards.
- The flight speed of a mosquito is on average 3.2 km per hour, but skillfully using air currents, mosquitoes are able to fly up to 100 km.
- The mosquito's weight is so small that once it hits the web it will not cause vibrations and will not attract the spider's attention.
Mosquitoes, video
And finally interesting documentary about one thing dangerous form mosquito - “killer mosquitoes”.