You are on page 1of 1

IN MINUTES

News and events visually

Hi. Im a mosquito. I like to buzz in your ears at night, ruin your family barbecue and feed on your blood. The egg My family consists of over raft The Breathing 3,500 species! tube, called pupa And you thought a trumpet

My life starts out in the water among an egg raft consisting of up to 300 eggs.

In just 24 hours, I will emerge from my egg in larvae form.

Our rafts can be found almost anywhere theres fresh or stagnant water: tin cans, barrels, horse troughs, ponds, pools, puddles, creeks, ditches, or marshy areas

As a pupa (a tumbler), I will continue to live under water up to four more days without eating. I oat around at the surface breathing through two tubes called trumpets.

I complete my metamorphisis into an adult mosquito within the pupal case. When Im ready to emerge, I split open the case to the surface of the water where I sit to dry o and allow my body to harden.

you had a big family!

The larvae

Here I am as a larvae. Some call me a wiggler or a wriggler. I need to hang out in the water anywhere from seven to 14 days depending on the temperature.

My breathing tube, called a siphon

As I grow, I molt (shed my skin) four times before reaching the pupa stage

4
Thorax Antenna

Adult mosquito

Wing

In order to keep myself alive and happy, I swim around in the water feeding on algae and small organisms. Frequently, I head back to the surface to breathe some air. Now that Im an adult female mosquito, the fun part begins! I y within a two-mile radius of where I was born to search for my favourite meal blood!

Abdomen

Head

Only female mosquitoes bite people and other animals


Blood is a very important part of my diet. Without it, I will die without laying viable eggs.

When I bite with my proboscis, I stab two tubes into the skin: one to inject an enzyme that inhibits blood clotting; the other to suck the blood. I can drink up to

Probiscus

Their male counterparts only feed on plant juices

three times
my own weight in blood.
Don't worry, though. It would take about 1.2 million bites to drain all the blood from your body.
Sources: www.mosquitoes.org; www.nationalgeographic.com

Veins

Skin

I use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odours, temperature, and movement to hone in on my victims

How long I live for depends on several factors: temperature, humidity, and time of year. A mosquitos sex is also a big factor I will live about a month depending on the above factors, while most males live about a week.
QMI AGENCY

You might also like