The itching welts they cause — not to mention concerns of Zika and other disease transmission — can downright ruin a beautiful day. However, at the time they die, their young are already developing, which means more females will be out in search of a blood meal soon.
Before laying eggs, a female mosquito must eat a blood meal. This helps the eggs develop properly. After finding a blood meal, the female lays her eggs in either an area prone to flooding or water that is stagnant or slow moving.
Different species of mosquitoes lay their eggs in certain ways. Others lay hundreds of eggs side by side and stacked on top of one another so the eggs stick together and form a type of raft that floats on the water. It takes about a week for mosquito eggs to hatch. After the eggs hatch, they become larvae. Most also have a siphon tube that extends from their abdomens.
This tube works as a snorkel and allows the larvae to breathe. They feed on microorganisms, like algae and fungi. They need to eat a lot so they can grow and molt four times. The larval stage lasts around 14 days, and at the end of their final molt, the larvae are called pupae and are about double their original size. The pupae float toward the surface of the water. The ideal life span of a mosquito might surprise you. From the moment a mosquito, whether it is male or female, emerges from its cocoon it has two main directives in life: eating and reproducing.
Within the first few days after freeing themselves from their larval and pupal stage, a process that usually takes about 14 days, adult mosquitoes are on the prowl and looking to mate.
And, even though having kids is huge on a mosquitoes to-do list, the males do have to wait for a nearly a day to pass for the full development of their reproductive organs. Their hunt for a mate has to wait and they spend that time consuming nectar, unlike their female counterparts. But with no websites or bars to go meet at, male mosquitoes have to use a different method of finding girls.
Male mosquitoes search out females to mate with by listening out for the beat of a females wings, which is usually from to beats per minute. Along with other flying insects, mosquitoes are useful pollinators. So, next time you see a blooming flower, remember it could be the result of that otherwise pesky mosquito. Watch a video showing the life cycle of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Female mosquitoes bite because they need an external source of protein to help their eggs develop.
Because a female mosquito can lay eggs up to three times in her lifetime, she will feed on multiple animals to develop eggs throughout each cycle. Diseases that mosquitoes carry can have an enormous effect on people and ecosystems of animals such as monkeys, birds, and even arctic caribou. Now that you know about the mosquito life cycle, find out how to help get rid of these bloodsucking pests in and around your home.
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