The most curious types of mosquitoes are dangerous babies and harmless giants.

Mosquitoes are spread almost all over the world with the exception of particularly arid and snowy regions. At first glance, these representatives of the fauna are no different from each other - they all fly, nasty squeak and annoy with painful bites. However, some types of mosquitoes deserve closer attention, as their lifestyle is very interesting.

Do you know how many species of mosquitoes are there? All over the world there are about 3 thousand species, which, in turn, are divided into 38 genera. On the territory of Russia alone, 100 species of mosquitoes live.

Their activity and survival largely depend on the area of ​​residence. For example, insects, which are common in humid and warm climates, remain active throughout the year. Inhabitants of temperate zones are already forced to winter for several cold months. And representatives of the Arctic regions are able to be active for no more than a few weeks, but at the same time they multiply incredibly intensively.

The habitat also affects mosquito eggs in a certain way. So, eggs of those species that live in temperate climates differ from northern ones in resistance to the negative effects of low temperatures. The latter are able to calmly tolerate not only cold air, but also feel great under a layer of snow.

Common mosquito

The most numerous family is the common mosquito, or piskun. This is a representative of the wild race, which is characterized by its unpretentiousness to the conditions of existence. It is the Piskun mosquito that annoys us in parks and squares, prevents us from sleeping at night and relaxing in nature.

Features of existence

Representatives of this species are widespread almost everywhere, with the exception of the northern regions, and according to scientists, they take the beginning of their life about 40 million years ago. The mosquito piskun is able to easily adapt to the conditions of the city and change its habitat.

• Its main feature is to produce its first offspring almost in extreme conditions, without a single drop of blood drunk!
• Accustomed to civilization, they enter into their marriage dance very quietly, without attracting too much attention with a squeak, which cannot be said about their wild relatives.
• In the city, ordinary mosquitoes can remain active throughout the year, flying from apartment to apartment through ventilation hatches in search of new victims.
• In the wild, it is most often found in marshy areas, in river valleys and in lowlands of the forest zone.

External characteristics and life cycle

Piskun mosquito is a small insect whose body length can be about 4-7 cm. Life expectancy depends largely on environmental conditions and gender. At optimal air temperature, the average value varies between 1.5 - 4 months and at the same time, females live slightly longer compared to males.

The main source of food for the female mosquito is the blood of warm-blooded animals.They attack humans, animals and birds. Due to this, females have the ability to lay eggs. Males eat mainly vegetable sugars, flower nectar and the juice of various plants.

In the wild, the laying eggs are laid on the surface of warm bodies of water with standing water. It can be a swamp, the edge of the lake, forest swamp and even an ordinary puddle. In civilization, a car tire with rainwater accumulated in it, a can and any artificial pond can be a great place for future offspring.

On a note! Common mosquito larva will fully develop even in a very polluted body of water!

Egg laying has the shape of a kind of raft that moves along the surface of the water and eventually settles to the bottom. One raft can count from 20 to 30 eggs. Depending on what the water temperature is, the duration of development is from 2 to 80 days.

A larva emerges from the egg, which, after four stages of metamorphosis, turns into a pupa. The end of each stage is accompanied by molting. Then the chrysalis turns into an imago - an adult medium-sized mosquito.

Harm

Piskuny are carriers of diseases and depending on the habitat they can cause:

• eczema
• urticaria;
• filariasis;
• meningitis;
• Japanese encephalitis;
• Brugia pahangi;
• West Nile virus.

In our country, these parasites are best known as carriers of eczema and urticaria.

Mosquito centipede

The mosquito the centipede has impressive dimensions - the length of the body along with the legs can reach 6 cm - but at the same time it does not pose any potential danger to humans. These insects are common on all continents and are absent only in waterless regions and snowy areas.

This family includes about 4,200 species and all representatives choose wet, marshy places in the wild and warm wet buildings and premises if they live close to people.

Features of the structure and nutrition

The body of the centipede mosquito is thin and elongated. The shape of the head is the same elongated and at the same time somewhat resembles a stigma. On the head is a pair of long antennae and a pair of faceted eyes.

The mosquito has a characteristic somewhat frightening appearance due to elongated legs, the dimensions of which are very impressive. On each lower leg there is a small process - a spur.

On a note! The process in the form of spurs are all representatives of this family, except for mosquitoes from the genus Indotipula!

Adult members of the family eat exclusively nectar. Some may not eat at all, but only lay eggs and continue the genus. But the larvae of the long-legged mosquito need a lot of greenery for normal development, and if there aren’t enough wild plants nearby, they can even attack crops.

Tropical mosquitoes

But tropical mosquitoes can not be called harmless, since they are carriers of the most serious diseases, which often end in death. Such diseases are usually considered as zoonotic, and mosquitoes in some cases are their causative agents. Moreover, these insects cannot be distinguished into a separate species or family. These carriers may include bloodsuckers from different species and genera, but they will all live exclusively in the tropics.

Tropical mosquitoes carry both viral diseases and diseases caused by parasites. Moreover, in both the first and second cases, infection occurs only through the bite of an infected insect.

There is a rather long list of diseases that left a sad mark in the history of mankind and tropical mosquitoes were their carriers. Such diseases are characterized by a short fever, which is accompanied by general intoxication of the whole organism, sometimes a rash appears and the central nervous system suffers. The most famous and common include:

• yellow fever;
• dengue fever;
• Lassa fever;
• West Nile fever;
• Oropush;
• Bunyamvera;
• O'Nyong Nyong;
• Chikungunya;
• Sindbis virus;
• Zika virus.

Yellow fever bite

Consider one of the carriers of such diseases - a mosquito of the species Aedes aegypti, or a yellow fever mosquito. It is dangerous because with a bite it can infect a person with Dengue fever, Zika virus, yellow fever or Chikungunya.

The yellow-febrile bite is a very recognizable representative of its kind - not in its pronotum there are bright white stripes and marks of the same color on the legs. Initially, representatives of this species were found in Africa, but over time, their habitat has become wider and today Aedes aegypti can be found in the subtropics and tropics.

On a note! In recent years, a yellow febrile mosquito began to be found in Georgia, in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine!

Eggs laid by a female of the species Aedes aegypti are white or yellow, but they quickly darken and acquire a brown hue. Hatched larvae live and feed in water. Food sources for them are algae, microorganisms and dead plant tissues. The larva turns into a chrysalis and after some time rises to the surface of the reservoir, molt and an adult mosquito comes to light. Until his cover finally hardens, and his wings do not spread, he hides in a shelter, which will always be located near the place where the egg emerges.

Mosquito Dergun

The mosquito zvonets, or dergun, represents a detachment of dipterans and belongs to the family of chironomids. These are insects with long legs, which usually create numerous flocks and swarm near wet places or flock to a light source. Surely each of you who was relaxing in the summer at the dacha, saw how the bells circled in the summer air and filled the silence with their endless squeak.

These flocks are mainly males and are absolutely safe for humans and animals, since the ability to bite them is not inherent. Sitting on a surface, they put forward their front legs, their body freezes, but the legs are constantly twitching. This is where their name comes from.

Features of existence

Being in water in the form of larvae, these insects are a favorite food of some species of fish.

On a note! Fans of aquarium fish should know that those red worms that are sold in pet stores, like feed - these are the larvae of the mosquito mosquito!

Such larvae can be found in reservoirs with stagnant water and a bottom covered with silt. They move in water with the help of special movements - like a snake, bending and unbending the muscles of the back, then to the right, then to the left. At the bottom, they slowly crawl, clinging legs to surrounding plants and objects. The larva breathes with the surface of the body, and it owes its color to a special phenomenon - its blood is saturated with hemoglobin, which is unusual for most insects. It is the bright red pigment that absorbs oxygen, which the larva gradually expends.

Larger larva lives at the bottom of the reservoir into which the female laid eggs. It is packed in a kind of cocoon in the form of a tube, which itself builds from silt and its own salivary glands. In order to rummage in the silt in search of food, the larva protrudes its head end from the tubule and, once saturated, hides again in the sleeve.

On a note! The larva of a mosquito-jerk is one of the most complex and unique organisms that can survive drying!

Over time, pupation occurs. The pupa of the bell has tracheal gills, which are presented in the form of bush-like bundles. At this stage, they do not swim anywhere and do not move along the bottom, but only "hang" motionless in the water, while still in the nutria of their coupling. Before rising to the surface of the reservoir, the body of the pupa is filled with air. This air cushion pushes it out of the water, the tube bursts and an insect with wings appears.