10 interesting facts about mosquitoes

Summer is many people’s favorite season, the longer days, the warm weather, and the start of festival season all add up to more people spending more time outdoors.

Unfortunately, there is one insect that just loves to ruin the days spent enjoying this amazing season - mosquitoes!

If you have done any reading, you probably already know these biting insects have become the bane of most of the civilized world. However, after crawling the world wide web and speaking to expert entomologists for some tips on how to prevent mosquitoes, here are some rather interesting facts about mosquitoes.

Surprisingly, as well as the aggravatingly itchy bites these bloodsuckers cause, they are actually quite a spectacular group of insects.

Of course, if you are experiencing way too many mosquito bites and want to prevent them from ruining your outdoor activities, contact Western Exterminator for a professional mosquito treatment plan.

Here are 10 interesting facts about mosquitoes you need to know!

1. Only female mosquitoes bite

This may surprise you and most people probably assume all mosquitoes bite, but no it is only the females that like to use us as a tasty snack.

Why do mosquitoes bite?

Female mosquitoes bite to feed on your blood. The protein and other compounds provide mosquitoes with a feast that is essential to help them produce and develop their eggs.

2. Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animals

When someone mentions the term “world’s deadliest animal” you probably start thinking of sharks, tigers, crocodiles and other fierce creatures.

Well, it may shock you to learn that it’s actually mosquitoes. Why? Well, it’s down to the harmful diseases that they are known to spread.

Mosquito diseases

Mosquitoes are known as ‘vectors” for several harmful diseases such as Malaria, Zika and Dengue. It is believed that as a result of this, mosquitoes are responsible for around 1 million deaths per year!

3. Mosquitoes would be terrible in the Olympics

This isn’t just a reference to 2016’s worries about the summer Olympics and the threat of Zika, This is a reference to if mosquitoes entered the Olympics with all the other insects.

In comparison to other insects, such as flies and wasps, mosquitoes aren’t the strongest of fliers and are quite slow. It is estimated that these biting insects can only fly at speeds between 1 and 1.5 mph so you can’t expect them to be breaking Usain Bolt’s 100m world record anytime soon!

4. Mosquitoes are big fans of Dirty Dancing

This may not be 100% accurate as we haven’t asked any mosquitoes what their favorite film is, but like Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in the hit film from the 80s mosquitoes have their own unique dance.

It has been discovered that before mating mosquitoes engaged in a sort of dance that involves beating their wings in a call-and-response type of manner. Amazing right?!

5. Mosquitoes love CO₂

To be honest they have a bit of an addiction to it. Carbon dioxide is one of the main ways in which mosquitoes locate their next feast. They use a special organ called a maxillary palp to follow the smell of CO₂ released from our breath.

6. There are a lot of mosquitoes

A lot!

According to the American Mosquito Control Association, there are over 3,000 different species of mosquitoes throughout the world.

7. Mosquitoes are greedy

We all know mosquitoes like to enjoy a couple of human blood cocktails, but did you know they can drink more blood than students can drink alcohol during freshman week?

Studies have revealed that mosquitoes are able to drink 3 times their own body weight in blood. Now that’s a lot!

8. Mosquitoes don’t live long

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about one mosquito becoming the bane of your existence causing itchy bites for eternity. Why? Well, these biting insects have a very short life span. It is estimated that mosquitoes live less than 2 months!

9. Mosquitoes are really old

Mosquitoes are as old as the Dinosaurs, with evidence of these biting insects dating back to the Triassic Period!

If you’ve seen the film Jurassic Park, this comes as no surprise as you’ll recall they used the blood found in fossilized mosquitoes to clone the infamous creatures to fill the park.

10. Mosquitoes don’t only bite humans

So after reading fact 6, you might be a bit scared due to the number of mosquitoes out there, but don’t worry, as not every mosquito craves human blood. Some species prefer to consume their Friday night cocktails from other animals such as frogs and birds.

If you have any concerns about mosquitoes in your home or business then get in contact with the experts at Western Exterminator today!