Mosquito

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> of small <a href="/facts/Diptera/ugzGBFKG">flies</a> consisting of 3,600 <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a>. The word mosquito (formed by <a href="/facts/Musca_(fly)/NwC5Ico5">mosca</a> and <a href="/facts/Diminutive/29BW2gfw">diminutive</a> -ito) is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender <a href="/facts/Segmented_body/S4Cw0UcN">segmented body</a>, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, <a href="/facts/Piercing-sucking_mouthpart/uNkLNKM8">piercing-sucking mouthparts</a>. All mosquitoes drink <a href="/facts/Nectar/Y784ExfM">nectar</a> from <a href="/facts/Flower/7gI5Kefw">flowers</a>; females of some species have in addition adapted to drink blood. The group diversified during the <a href="/facts/Cretaceous/nwKtFtKx">Cretaceous</a> period. <a href="/facts/Evolutionary_biology/8tBoG55U">Evolutionary biologists</a> view mosquitoes as <a href="/facts/Micropredator/HWPcgky7">micropredators</a>, small animals that <a href="/facts/Parasitism/HWPcgky7">parasitise</a> larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. <a href="/facts/Parasitology/8UzTjlH8">Medical parasitologists</a> view mosquitoes instead as <a href="/facts/Disease_vector/bepASE2M">vectors of disease</a>, carrying <a href="/facts/Protozoa/JczTf25H">protozoan</a> parasites or <a href="/facts/Bacteria/wC8xSCsU">bacterial</a> or <a href="/facts/Virus/mf88Bcbl">viral</a> <a href="/facts/Pathogen/axMXtV1M">pathogens</a> from one <a href="/facts/Host_(biology)/L6mop0kh">host</a> to another.
The mosquito life cycle consists of four stages: <a href="/facts/Egg/2a1McdtR">egg</a>, <a href="/facts/Larva/GKo2FIew">larva</a>, <a href="/facts/Pupa/0u7NE8Cq">pupa</a>, and <a href="/facts/Adult/dojHcGa2">adult</a>. Eggs are laid on the water surface; they hatch into <a href="/facts/Motility/Df5BECHL">motile</a> larvae that feed on aquatic <a href="/facts/Algae/U1ftVKU3">algae</a> and <a href="/facts/Organic_material/t17tVCvk">organic material</a>. These larvae are important food sources for many freshwater animals, such as <a href="/facts/Dragonfly/rbkcYK0n">dragonfly nymphs</a>, many fish, and some birds. Adult females of many species have mouthparts adapted to pierce the skin of a <a href="/facts/Host_(biology)/L6mop0kh">host</a> and <a href="/facts/Hematophagy/plcTvPFg">feed on blood</a> of a wide range of <a href="/facts/Vertebrate/tT54FSTT">vertebrate</a> hosts, and some <a href="/facts/Invertebrate/3CyqCVnN">invertebrates</a>, primarily other <a href="/facts/Arthropod/JKJLTFzp">arthropods</a>. Some species only produce eggs after a blood meal.
The mosquito's <a href="/facts/Saliva/RUzb41Ct">saliva</a> is transferred to the host during the bite, and can cause an itchy <a href="/facts/Rash/6J8jwo8f">rash</a>. In addition, blood-feeding species can ingest pathogens while biting, and transmit them to other hosts. Those species include vectors of <a href="/facts/Parasitic_disease/DU94HYrL">parasitic diseases</a> such as <a href="/facts/Malaria/rN3g58CX">malaria</a> and <a href="/facts/Filariasis/8AkVK5hy">filariasis</a>, and <a href="/facts/Arboviruses/lfpUmmLr">arboviral</a> diseases such as <a href="/facts/Yellow_fever/feT3DIKu">yellow fever</a> and <a href="/facts/Dengue_fever/Stn1FvlF">dengue fever</a>. By transmitting diseases, mosquitoes cause the deaths of over 725,000 people each year.

Mosquito open-in-new

Mosquito