Everyone encounters mosquitoes: at least once in their life, everyone has heard a characteristic squeak in the dark of the night, when you are already going to bed. It is he who foreshadows that an attack by these small bloodsuckers is possible. An encounter with mosquitoes results in unpleasant consequences for many. And in some regions of Russia, the invasion of these insects turns normal life into hell and a nightmare. Read about the consequences of encountering mosquitoes for humans and how you can fight them so as not to harm yourself in the material from AiF.ru.
Mosquito: male and female, differences
These insects belong to the category Diptera, the long-whiskered group. In total, more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes are identified. They are divided into 30 genera. In our area you can find up to 100 varieties. What does a male mosquito look like?
He has a thin body: head, chest and abdomen. Most mosquitoes are no more than 15 mm in length. Their legs (three pairs) are long and with claws, and their wings are narrow with veins. The general color of insects can be gray, brown or yellow. Weight depends on the state of satiety and can fluctuate between 1 and 5 mg. The squeak is produced by the vibrations of the wings. Their frequency can reach up to 1000 beats per second in some species (usually from 500).
There are long sensitive antennas on the head. In males they are more “fluffy”. The oral apparatus consists of jaws and elongated upper and lower lips. They form a proboscis groove. Needles formed by underdeveloped jaws move along it. The cavity of the tongue serves as a channel for the passage of saliva containing anticoagulants and anesthetics.
Mosquitoes also have small teeth, which play an important role when piercing the skin of the victim. Females have piercing bristles on their proboscis, which males do not have.
Nutritional Features
Mosquitoes and gnats feed exclusively on flower nectar, pollen of honey plants and water. The differences between them are that after mating, males continue to eat plant foods, but females begin to eat humans or warm-blooded animals.
Mosquitoes need blood as a source of protein, fats and energy necessary to bear healthy and viable eggs. In search of food, they can attack not only people and mammals, but also amphibians, reptiles and even fish.
Mosquitoes: who bites females or males
The proboscis of males is more delicate. Due to the lack of piercing bristles, they cannot pierce the skin. What do male mosquitoes eat? Like many other insects, they feed on plant matter. Mainly carbohydrates: pollen and flower nectar. If a person hears a characteristic mosquito squeak, this does not mean that an insect capable of biting is nearby.
If the female, for various reasons, cannot find blood, she temporarily becomes a vegetarian. In this case, egg laying is impossible or significantly reduced. Protein and carbohydrate foods are processed in different parts of the digestive tract. If the female is “drinked” with a drop of blood, she will die. Protein food will end up in the wrong place. The section required for this purpose opens only when the skin is pierced.
It is believed that mosquitoes are selective when choosing a victim. If possible, they prefer the host's blood with a high content of cholesterol and testosterone. Some species of mosquitoes are particularly selective and look for victims among cold-blooded frogs, caterpillars and even fish.
Which one of us is more attractive to bite?
What attracts mosquitoes to humans depends on many factors. Insects of this type have preferences in the number of smells and colors. As well as species-specific antipathies that drive the bloodsucker away from a potential victim. What odors do they react to most aggressively and actively:
- Carbon dioxide. The main sign that a living creature is nearby. Excessive exhalation of carbon dioxide is possible after intense physical activity, against the background of heart disease or other pathological processes. Such persons are in a high-risk group.
- Lactic acid. It is released through sweat during intense physical activity. It can be called a component of the smell of the human body. The degree of lactic acid secretion cannot be controlled artificially; all that remains is to mask the manifestation. People who engage in intense physical labor or athletes are at increased risk.
- Alcohol, but not all. A series of experiments were carried out. Bloodsuckers are most interested in the smells of beer. What this is connected with is not yet known.
- Individual body odor. It is caused by the vital activity of bacteria and microorganisms living on the surface of the body. This is the calling card of an individual representative, which is why insects are drawn to some more actively than to others.
In addition to smells, bloodsuckers navigate by colors. They are attracted to bright colors. Therefore, it makes sense to dress in darker colors when going outdoors. For example, brown or dark green, blue. Yellow, red, light green, acid green are not recommended.
In addition, they are easier to navigate by temperature. For this reason, people with elevated body temperatures attract insects like a magnet.
Who else is at increased risk?
Some people don't seem to get bitten by mosquitoes. And they fly at others in a whole swarm. This is not entirely true. They bite everyone, just in different quantities. This happens due to the individual characteristics of each individual organism, which are subject to comparison. Bloodsuckers have their own preferences.
So who does mosquitoes bite more often and who is ignored:
- Pregnant women. It has been proven that pregnant women exhale 20-30% more carbon dioxide than other people. Also, the body of a woman in position exudes a specific aroma, which is so attractive to females, who attack people.
- People who are prone to excessive sweating. Including completely healthy representatives who suffer from natural hyperhidrosis.
- Blood type. What blood type does not get bitten by mosquitoes? The most attractive are carriers of the 1st group. Then come 3 and 4. But the second one is not of such interest to insects. Although without another victim around, even such lucky ones risk being bitten.
- Drinking alcohol, as mentioned earlier, attracts mosquitoes.
- Some diseases. Bloodsuckers are more interested in people who suffer from diabetes, heart and vascular diseases, and hormonal disorders.
There are also factors that reduce the likelihood of bites:
- Oncological diseases, cancer. This is due to the specific smell from such people.
- The already mentioned carriers of blood group 2. Although this is conditional.
- Features of genetics and physiology. When the body secretes natural repellents. Substances that are unpleasant to blood-sucking insects.
The answer to the question of why mosquitoes bite some and not others lies in the peculiarities of physiology and genetics.
Reproduction
On quiet summer evenings you can see mosquitoes swarming. These are all males, they are waiting for sexually mature females. When such an individual is nearby, its characteristic squeak at a certain frequency becomes audible to the males. They detect it with sensitive antennae.
The male mosquito, whose sensor tuning frequency matches the vibrations of the female’s wings, goes towards, catches her and holds her during mating. Fertilization is internal. The female develops eggs, which she lays on the surface of the water. They require blood to develop. Therefore, for a full and numerous clutch, the female is looking for an opportunity to get enough of it. The sensors on its antennae are sensitive to thermal radiation from the body of animals and humans. They can also sense their metabolic products from a distance: uric and lactic acid, carbon dioxide.
Urban mosquitoes can reproduce without swarming. This process often occurs in basements, pits and other nooks with limited space. What do male mosquitoes and mature females eat in such conditions? Decaying plant debris.
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Do male mosquitoes not drink blood? What do they eat?
As you know, the squeak mosquito (or common) is distributed throughout the world, even on the most remote islands and continents, where the insect was brought during the Great Geographical Discoveries. Mosquito larvae were kept in barrels with residual water, which subsequently splashed out into water bodies.
The female mosquito has two food sources. Plant juices containing sugars provide it with the energy necessary to maintain life. In fact, mosquitoes need blood (from humans, mammals, birds) for the development of eggs - future offspring.
Males feed only on plant nectars and juices. Their mouthparts are unable to pierce the skin to gain access to nutritional fluid.
Research results have shown that even if they have the same oral apparatus as females, males will still not suck blood. They refuse to accept it even in laboratory conditions, where they do not need to make any effort to obtain food. Dr Nipun Basrur, lead author of the study, said scientists previously had little information about how female mosquitoes find their targets and decide to bite them.
It turned out that insects, regardless of gender, have the same brain structure and neural networks that are necessary to find a host. At the same time, in males, scientists have identified a special genetic “switch” that simply blocks this function. As a result, they do not have a desire to drink blood, even though it is more nutritious compared to plant foods.
The researchers came to the conclusion that if this gene is subjected to certain mutations, male mosquitoes also begin to react to the special smell of a person and tend to bite him, despite the fact that they have no direct need for blood. Scientists have drawn particular attention to the fruitless gene, which is also found in fruit flies.
Disabling this gene in male mosquitoes, as expected, led to disruption of the insect's reproductive function. However, scientists decided to go further and check how this would affect their diet. It turned out that ordinary mosquitoes and mutated ones still equally refused to drink the blood that was given to them in laboratory conditions. However, the mutant males showed incredible activity when a person was nearby.
This study found that if the blockage is removed, mosquitoes become interested in human scent. It's all just a matter of genetics. Experts plan to use this information in further projects aimed at reducing the spread of various diseases by female mosquitoes.
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Life cycle
During its development, a mosquito goes through four stages. The larva hatches from the egg. Then it pupates and an adult is born. After saturation with blood, the eggs mature in the female’s body. Their laying occurs on the surface of the water: a puddle, a ditch, a pond, an artificial container. In one go, the female can lay up to 150 eggs. After a few days, depending on environmental conditions, the larvae will hatch. They live in the water column and feed on small plankton. From time to time they float to the surface to breathe.
During development, the larva molts four times and turns into a pupa. At this stage, the future mosquito can move more intensively in the water column. It floats to the surface and hides at the bottom in case of danger. After several days of development, the skin of the pupa located at the surface of the water bursts and a sexually mature mosquito appears through the resulting gap. It moves along the surface of the water to coastal vegetation. Males are born first. They wait for females and swarm near such places.
Mosquitoes can endure winter at any stage. The eggs remain viable even after 2–3 years in unfavorable conditions. Adults wait out the cold in tree hollows, under bark and other secluded places. In cities, they find refuge in damp basements, vegetable stores, and cellars.
Range Facts
In search of food, the female is able to fly non-stop for a maximum of 2 km.
Calmly crosses a pond or forest, sensing the scent of a potential victim. The speed of a mosquito is not very high - about 3 km per hour. However, their high-flying abilities are more impressive. Mosquitoes fly far and also high. Based on the anatomical structure, weight, and other characteristics of the insect, a mosquito is capable of climbing 15 km. The wind does not allow them to rise higher. However, facts of insects appearing on the highest floors of a skyscraper are constantly recorded. This fact is explained in different ways:
- The insect makes its way to the upper floors from the previous one. Then you have to fly only 5 m.
- On a hot day, the building gets very hot, and in the evening evaporation begins. Currents of warm air pick up mosquitoes and carry them to the very top of the house.
- Mosquitoes fly at a distance of no more than 5 m above the surface of the earth, since there is a potential victim at this level, there is no point in going up. However, the city "residents" climb up the ventilation shafts from the basement, in the elevator.
Benefits and harms
A male mosquito lives half as long as a female. On average this is two to three weeks. Females can live up to three months or more. This is largely influenced by environmental conditions. As the temperature decreases, the period increases. Mosquitoes are of great importance in maintaining the natural balance of the ecosystem. They themselves and their larvae serve as food and are part of the food chains of larger species. Another role is that they can carry infections, and thereby regulate the number of animals susceptible to infection.
Mosquitoes can cause harm to humans. And this is not only skin irritation after their bites. Some types of mosquitoes can carry dangerous infectious agents: tularemia and arboviruses. Representatives of the genus Anopheles can be carriers of malarial plasmodia. They are contained in saliva and enter the human bloodstream when bitten. As a result, malaria may develop. In our region, this disease is rare and there is no point in worrying too much about it.
Precautionary measures
While male mosquitoes are not dangerous to humans, female mosquitoes can be a serious nuisance. It is believed that a healthy person is theoretically able to withstand up to 500 bites from these insects. A larger amount can cause death due to painful shock and intoxication. However, even a few stings can cause severe allergic reactions in some people.
To protect yourself, you should know that mosquitoes do not tolerate heat well and prefer to hunt in the shade or in the evening. They do not like windy weather and open areas of space, as they are easily blown away by air flow. It is better to protect your home with mosquito nets on the windows. Loose clothing significantly reduces the number of bites. Mosquitoes do not like the smell of anise, eucalyptus, wheatgrass, elderberry, lavender, and mint.
Excessive sweating makes a person more “attractive” and noticeable. Ultrasonic repellers that emit vibrations at waves that are “unpleasant” for insects, as well as fumigators that release chemical reagents, can help. Some drive away uninvited guests, others kill them. Topical application of repellents to the skin is also relevant.
Salicylic or boric alcohol, a solution of soda, vinegar, tea tree oil, and calendula tincture help to some extent relieve itching and swelling after bites. If you are predisposed to allergic reactions, it is better to have special antihistamines with you.
What else do mosquitoes eat in the forest?
It is not at all easy to find blood in the forest, and therefore wild animals, birds, and fish can be donors of vital force for insects.
Despite their miniature and fragile appearance, these insects have a high ability to obtain blood. They are not stopped by any obstacles on the way: neither the thick fur of the animal, nor the rigidity of the feather cover of the bird. Mosquitoes are able to break through the cover of hard cow hair or “impenetrable” sheep wool and emerge from there after a couple of seconds with a “belly” full of blood.
The female mosquito bites into the most delicate frog skin and into the chicks that have not yet fledged. The mosquito proboscis is quite small in diameter, but the speed of the blood it sucks greatly exceeds the speed with which other bloodsuckers, such as a tick or louse, “suck.” The amount of blood entering the body of a female mosquito is several times less than the amount of blood sucked out by the horsefly. The mosquito and horsefly suck for the same amount of time, about 3-4 minutes.
Particular activity of mosquitoes increases in the hours after dawn and immediately after sunset.
Mosquitoes do not have hearing organs, but the receptors responsible for the sense of smell are so developed that a mosquito is able to fly hundreds of meters, sensing a potential victim at a distance. The smell of human sweat is a mosquito magnet. A mosquito can smell sweat several meters away and flies straight to the call of blood.
