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The Mosquito... |
This Page is dedicated to the Canadian National Bird
How many species of mosquitoes are
there?
About 2,700.
And how many are resistant to at least one insecticide?
More than 50.
What does a mosquito weigh?
About 2 to 2.5 milligrams (for an Aedes aegypti).
How much blood does a female mosquito
drink per, er, serving ?
About 5-millionths of a liter
(for an Aedes aegypti).
What happens if you cut the sensory nerve in the mosquito's
stomach?
The little whiner can keep sucking
blood until it bursts (oh, sweet justice!).
How do mosquitoes find new hosts?
By sight (they observe movement);
by detecting infra-red radiation emitted by warm bodies; and by chemical
signals (mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide and lactic acid, among
other chemicals).
How fast can a mosquito fly?
An estimated 1 to 1.5 miles
per hour.
How far do certain mosquitoes fly
Salt marsh mosquitoes migrate
75 to 100 miles.
How far away can a mosquito smell
you, or a cow or another host (defined)?
20 to 35 meters.
Don't you love being called a "host"?
Not in this context.
Why does a film of oil on water
kill mosquito larvae?
Because the oil clogs up the
snorkel that the larvae use to breathe.
What does mosquito saliva have to
do with some kinds of rat poison?
They both contain anti-coagulants,
chemicals that prevent the blood from clotting.
When do mosquitoes feed?
Day-time. Night-time. And all
times in-between. Truthfully, some species prefer different times of day
or night. This behavior may have evolved to match the host's behavior.
Do they ever stop sucking blood?
Yes. For starters, males never
suck blood. And females don't do it more often than necessary, since it
exposes them to (slap, slap) host "defensive behaviors."
So what's the advantage of letting
a mosquito drink its fill?
Because if you brush it away
too soon, it might come back for more. At least, that's the opinion of
Marc Klowden (see Blood, Sex, and the Mosquito).
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