Mosquitoes, like other insects, have a body consisting of 3 sections: the head,the thorax, and the abdomen.
Only female mosquitoes bite. Mosquitoes that bite remove a small portion ofthe victim's blood which is used for development of eggs inside the female. Actually, mosquitoes do not bite because they cannot open their jaws. Mosquitoes actually stabthrough the victim's skin with 6 tiny, needle-like projections calledstylets. Mosquitoes can easily suck blood because the insect'ssaliva keeps it from clotting.
The mosquitoes' life is observed in four stages:the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the adult.
The female lays between 100 and 300 eggs at one time depending uponspecies. She can lay as many as 3,000 eggs in her lifetime. Most varieties lay their eggsin water, although there are some species that do not. Mosquito eggs must havemoisture in order to hatch.
The hatchlings resemble a caterpillar or worm and are often called wrigglers. Thisis the larva stage of development. The larvae grows quickly. They molt four times in 4 to 10 days. Following the final molt, larva change into pupa.
The pupa is comma -shaped. The pupa of many insects cannot move, butall kinds of mosquito pupa can swim. The pupa, however, does not eat.
The adult female attracts the male by emitting a high-pitched sound made by her wings.Females of some species must sip blood before they can lay eggs that will hatch.Adult males may live only 7 to 10 days while females can live over 30 days.
