Mosquitoes

Summer is a season much loved by many, due to the holidays, the high temperatures, the longer days... But on the other hand, everyone hates it when they do act of presence the dreaded mosquitoes.

These dipterans are animals that do not live long, but in that short time they can be very annoying, especially if you are one of those whose blood is very appetizing to them. Know all the details you should know about these animals.

How are the mosquitoes

The mosquito, also called mosquito, moyote, or its scientific name, culicidae, is a dipteran with a thin and normally elongated body. It has two pairs of wings, two smaller and two larger, as well as six thin and long legs, three on each side of its body. Likewise, in the part of the head, it has a trunk, in the case of females, which they use to suck blood. And two antennas to orient and also feel the vibrations. It also has eyes and a mouth, called the palpus.

In your body, there is room for a small heart, muscles, lymph nodes and trachea, as well as everything necessary to digest what you eat and expel waste to the outside.

where mosquitoes live

The ideal place for a mosquito to live is related to water, not only because it is part of reproduction, but also because it likes humid areas in tropical climates. Mosquitoes are rarely seen in cold areas, Although that doesn't mean they don't exist.

In general, places like swamps, stagnant water, puddles, cisterns, etc. they are his favourites. Hence, if you do not want to have them at home, it is best not to have any place where the water remains for several days without being changed.

types of mosquitoes

Mosquitoes exist all over the world, and the truth is that there are more than 3500 different species. Therefore, talking to you about all of them would be boring and almost impossible. But they can be classified into several families and these would be the following:

• Culicidae. They are real mosquitoes. Actually, those that bite are females that feed on the blood of other animals, such as humans). The males do not feed on blood, and there is a species where the female does not either. Within this family are the genera Culex, Aedes, Anopheles, Sabethes, Culiseta, Psorophora, Haemagoggus and Ochlerotatus, among the 39 that compose it (with 135 recognized subgenera).
• Psychodids. They are smaller mosquitoes than the previous ones and are guilty of transmitting leishmaniasis.
• Chironomids. They are similar in size to psychods, but do not feed on blood.
• Tipulids. They are the giant mosquitoes (also called crane flies) that can measure 7,5 centimeters. But they are not hematophagous, that is, they do not feed on blood.
• Bibionomorpha. They are somewhat unusual diptera since some species are related to the mosquitoes themselves.

Types of mosquitoes in Spain

In the case of Spain, there are some species that should be known to distinguish them, especially in the summer season, which is when they appear the most. These are:

• common mosquito. Known as Culex pipiens, it is a specimen that can reach 8 millimeters in size, without having distinctive features.
• tiger mosquito. It is also common in Spain. This Aedes albopictus is smaller than the common one, just about 6 millimeters, and has a white line in the center of the thorax towards the head, as well as stripes on the legs.
• Anopheles mosquito. With the scientific name Anopheles SPP, it is an animal that has dark markings on its wings, as well as on its legs.

what does the mosquito eat

The mosquito is an animal whose diet differs between males and females. The males feed on nectar, fruits, sap... For their part, females feed on the blood of other animals.

Therefore, male and female are different in this sense. While the female has strong enough mouthparts, as well as a proboscis (an elongated, tubular appendage) to pierce the skin and suck blood; in the case of males they lack these organs.

When it comes to finding its victim, the female mosquito uses its antennae as sensors to perceive both carbon dioxide and lactic acid. The moment they find their prey, they move closer in order to catch the heat of the blood and, when they can, they bite it for food. Most mosquitoes are very quick to do this.

This does not mean that they do not use their sight, in fact they do so because it is a sense that is highly developed. However, mosquitoes see in infrared, which means that the darker you dress, the more appetizing you will become to them. In fact, the color black or blue will make you more visible to them.

Diseases that can transmit

Due to mosquito bites, although the vast majority do not pose any danger beyond a few days of discomfort and itching until it subsides, there are occasions when mosquitoes are capable of transmitting diseases. Hence, great care must be taken with some species, such as the tiger mosquito.

Among the diseases that mosquitoes can transmit are:

• Malaria. It is caused by Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease is one of the causes of most mortality and morbidity, reaching 200 million cases worldwide per year. Of the species of mosquitoes that most cause this disease are Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus.
• Yellow fever. From the Aedes family, it can cause this virus, as well as dengue, Zika, Chikungunya or similar.
• Dengue. It can be caused not only by the above mosquito, but also by the tiger mosquito. In addition, it can also be the culprit of transmitting other diseases such as chikungunya fever.
• West Nile Fever. What can you contract with the bite of the Culex pippiens mosquito, very common in Europe.

Each of these diseases has symptoms that can warn of their presence, but usually a bite does not pose any health risk.

The reproduction of mosquitoes

The reproduction of mosquitoes only has once in its life. When copulation occurs, the sperm is stored by the female in a section of her body called the spermatheca. Thus, she can use it throughout her life. This is one of the reasons why females are hematophagous, that is, they feed on blood because they need a lot of protein to achieve several egg layings.

Once it bites an animal (or person), in 1-2 days, it is able to spawn about 200-300 eggs that fertilize at the same time. Thus, in about 45 days of life (which is the life expectancy of the mosquito), it can lay more than 1.500 eggs.

Once the egg is laid, which takes place in an area where there is water, it goes through four different phases in a period of between 7 and 15 days. These phases are: egg, larva, pupa and adult mosquito.