Mosquitoe Day is upon us and instead of telling these pesky creatures to buzz of, lets do one thing better and unveil the mysteries of mosquitoes.
The following are interesting facts about mosquitoes that will have your head buzzing with new found information:
1. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on Earth.
That’s right, more deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other animal on the planet.Mosquitoes carry a number of deadly diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Mosquitoes also carry heartworm, which can be lethal to your dog.
2.Only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals; males feed on flower nectar.
Mosquitoes mean nothing personal when they take your blood. Female mosquitoes need protein for their eggs, and must take a blood meal in order to reproduce. Since males don’t bear the burden of producing young, they’ll avoid you completely and head for the flowers instead. And when not trying to produce eggs, females are happy to stick to nectar too.
3.Mosquitoes are known from as far back as the Triassic Period – 400 million years ago.
They are known from North America from the Cretaceous – 100 million years ago.
4. Some mosquitoes don’t bite humans, preferring other hosts like amphibians or birds.
Not all mosquito species feed on people. Some mosquitoes specialise on other animals and are no bother to us at all. Culiseta melanura, for example, bites birds almost exclusively, and rarely bites humans.
5.There are 1000’s of mosquito species
There are about 2,700 species of mosquito. There are 176 species in the United States.
6.Mosquitoes draw millions of litres of blood during feeding
The average mosquito takes in about 5-millionths of a liter of blood during feeding.
7. A mosquito’s wings beat 300-600 times per second.
This would explain that irritating buzzing sound you hear just before a mosquito lands on you and bites.
8.Bigger People, active people, movement and smelly feet are some of the ideal magnets for mosquitoes
Bigger people are often more attractive to mosquitoes because they are larger targets and they produce more mosquito attractants, namely CO2 and lactic acid. Active or fidgety people produce more CO2 and lactic acid. Smelly feet are attractive to certain species of mosquitoes – as is Limburger Cheese. Dark clothing has been shown to attract some species of mosquitoes more than lighter colored clothing. Movement increased mosquito biting up to 50% in some research tests.A full moon increased mosquito activity 500% in one study.
9.An adult mosquito may live 5-6 months.
Few probably make it that long, given our tendency to slap them silly when they land on us. But in the right circumstances, an adult mosquito has quite a long life expectancy.
10. Mosquitoes responsible for the West Nile Virus
Birds were originally blamed for the spread of the West Nile Virus across the United States. But a 2010 study says that it was the mosquitoes themselves, which can travel up to 2.5 miles per day, that were responsible for the spread of the disease from 2001 to 2004.
