Mosquito lifestyle and its role in nature

With the exception of Antarctica, mosquitoes are everywhere. Each of us is familiar with him, and we all know what the situation may turn out if the window is opened in a sultry, wet summer and there is no mosquito net on it - the night will be ruined, and in the morning the body will be covered with itchy bite marks. And at such moments, it seems that this insect only harms, especially if we take into account those diseases, the peddlers of which it is. But the mosquito is not so simple. Let's find out a little more about him.

What are mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes are representatives of the family of dipterans and they belong to the group of long-nosed. In total, there are about 3 thousand species of these insects. In Russia, mosquitoes of the bite genus are found, malaria and real, but in general in our country more than 100 types. In the city, the most common mosquito was common.

Body structure

The mosquito has the following structure:

• the body is thin, no more than 1.5 cm long, painted in gray, yellow or brown; the body consists of three main parts - this is the head, chest and abdomen;
• on the head are antennas, divided into 15 small segments, and the oral apparatus, represented by two pairs of jaws, tongue, numerous small teeth and a pair of lips; lips form a kind of groove in which long needles are located; the groove of the females has bristles and is slightly longer in them than in males;
• the abdomen is divided into ten segments; the last two are parts of the external genital apparatus, near which the anus is located; the first eight segments are connected by an elastic membrane - pleura, and each consists of two plates - ventral and dorsal, the second and sixth segments are carriers of the spiracles;
• for insects of the mosquito family, the chest is the central organ to which, in addition to the head and abdomen, paws and wings are attached; the breast itself consists of three parts: prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax; prothorax has an external skeleton consisting of three plates; the middle chest consists of the same number of plates, but at the same time it is more developed and carries the front pectoral spiracle; the thorax is located on the sides of the chest
• wings are thin and narrow, consist of veins located along and across, along the edge of each wing is framed by a costal vein; flakes are unevenly located on the surface, which form a fringe along the posterior edge of each wing;
  

  On a note! Some scientists are inclined to think that on the surface of the wings there are nerve endings, which are the senses!

• the legs are located on the mesothorax and their number is six; each leg is divided into a pelvis, trochanter, thigh, lower leg and foot; each foot, in turn, consists of five segments and on the last has two claws; under each claw there is one suction cup; on the inner parts of the hind tibia there are several flat spines arranged in a row.

Females and males - looking for differences

The male and female mosquitoes are distinguished by both external signs and preferences in food:

• female representatives eat blood, as it is a source of protein, lipids and iron; thanks to such food, female mosquitoes are able to continue the genus; after saturation, the mosquito flies to a secluded place, where for several days the digested portion is digested, at the same time eggs mature in her body; for males, for normal life, flower nectar, which is saturated with carbohydrates, is quite enough; carbohydrates in the mosquito's body are converted to glycogen - this is the energy that the male gradually expends during flights;
• during the act of feeding, females must pierce dense skin, and therefore their oral apparatus is equipped with pricking needles located in the proboscis; males do not have these needles, since they simply do not need them;
• the male mosquito has longer hairs on the antennae and this is noticeable even without a microscope; they look like soft fluffy feathers; the mustache of the female half of the mosquito family is very thin and nondescript.

Lifestyle

Do you know where mosquitoes live? The habitat of these bloodsuckers will depend on the following factors:

• type of insect - some are able to exist in a temperate climate, for others, the most acceptable place to live are tropical forests;
• the location of the food source - at a certain period of life, females feed on the blood of humans and animals, and therefore they will always be in close proximity to the source of saturation;
• climatic conditions - mosquitoes do not like the cold too much and will always choose a warmer place;
  

  On a note! The optimum air temperature for their normal existence is + 16 ° C!

• high humidity - the most favorable place for reproduction is the place where the humidity will be in the range of 80-90%.

On a note! Scientists note the fact that mosquitoes are able to adapt to the most unexpected conditions of existence, and therefore, it is possible that soon they will be able to inhabit Antarctica too!

Life span

The life span of a mosquito is slightly longer compared, say, with the life of ants and butterflies. However, it is impossible to name the exact length of time, since it depends on:

• sex - the male took only three weeks of life to the male, but a much longer period was prepared for the females, which is about three months;
  

  On a note! The presence of favorable conditions and winter suspended animation prolongs the life span of females - in this case, it increases to one year!

• nutrition - how much the mosquito lives is also affected by its menu, for example, if the source of saturation is constantly nearby, then the female will have the energy to lay her eggs and stay in good health after that, but if the diet is insufficient, the young it will turn out weak, and the mosquito herself will die immediately after she makes the clutch;
• temperature conditions - in spite of the fact that these insects perfectly take root in almost any conditions, they nevertheless affect their life expectancy; if the ambient temperature is + 23 ° C and higher, the female mosquito will live no more than 43 days, 20 ... 23 ° C - 58 days, 15 ... 20 ° C - up to 114 days, 10 ... 15 ° C - about 120 days .

On a note! The opinion that a mosquito dies immediately immediately after a bite is wrong. In addition, neither the number of bitten nor the amount of blood drunk affects their life expectancy! After a bite, a bloodsucker can die only if the victim slams it!

What is the danger of mosquitoes?

The main danger of mosquitoes is that they are carriers of diseases. The development of diseases can be triggered by parasites, viruses and pathogenic bacteria that the bloodsucker will bring on its legs and proboscis.

So what diseases do mosquitoes carry?

1. Different types of malaria, which are parasitic diseases. Their causative agents are parasites related to the type of plasmodium. Such ailments are transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the genus Anofeles, among the people - malaria.
2. Lymphatic filariasis, a symptom of which is elephantiasis.Many types of bloodsuckers can be carriers of this disease.
3. Diseases provoked by the carrier Aedes aegypti. These include chikungunya, yellow fever and dengue fever. The latter are most often the travelers who have visited the south of Central Asia, Central America and the Caribbean.
   

   On a note! It is characteristic that Dengue fever can be transmitted only through infected mosquitoes, this ailment does not pass from person to person!

4. West Nile Virus is an arbovirus infection spread by mosquitoes. She made very scared the inhabitants of the United States. However, there is still no reliable information on the causes of the spread of this disease.
5. Eastern equine encephalitis virus, which has spread mainly in the eastern United States.
6. Tularemia is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Francisella tularensis. It is transmitted through the bites of certain species of mosquitoes and flies.

Important! About 700 million people annually become infected with various diseases through mosquito bites. Most often, residents of South and Central America, Africa, Mexico, Asia and Russia suffer. And at the same time, about 2 million people die from such diseases every year!

Value for nature

The role of mosquitoes in nature is much more significant than it might seem at first glance. This small insect is actively involved in many important processes:

• living most of their lives in water, they accumulate in their bodies a huge number of important trace elements, minerals and beneficial bacteria that, after the death of an insect, end up in the soil, enriching and fertilizing it;
  

  On a note! Especially important, from this point of view, mosquitoes become for the taiga, where they are sometimes the only ones who carry trace elements from swamps to the soil! Each year, these small insects spread about 16 kg of nitrogen, 9 kg of phosphorus and 6 kg of calcium on their tiny paws!

• in the form of pupae, larvae and adults, they are food for many species of fish, birds, animals and large insects; in this way mosquitoes maintain food circulation stability;
• feeding on plant nectar, they participate in the pollination process, spreading pollen on their legs, wings and proboscis.

Surprisingly, such a simple, and sometimes dangerous mosquito, actually brings tremendous benefits to nature.