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The mosquito life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs are laid on the water surface; they hatch into motile larvae that feed on aquatic algae and organic material. These larvae are important food sources for many freshwater animals, such as dragonfly nymphs, many fish, and some birds.
The larval and pupal stages of the life cycle take place under water, but after metamorphosis, adults of both sexes leave the water and visit flowers to feed on nectar. Before it starts to breed, the female mosquito needs a meal of vertebrate blood to provide the protein it needs for egg production; the male does not bite. [4]
Anopheles (/ ə ˈ n ɒ f ɪ l iː z /) is a genus of mosquito first described by the German entomologist J. W. Meigen in 1818, and are known as nail mosquitoes and marsh mosquitoes. [1] Many such mosquitoes are vectors of the parasite Plasmodium , a genus of protozoans that cause malaria in birds , reptiles , and mammals , including humans.
Life cycle of a mosquito. An adult female mosquito lays eggs which develop through several stages to adulthood. Reproduction completes and perpetuates the cycle ...
The life cycle of Wyeomyia smithii begins in either late spring or early fall when the adult female lays her eggs in the phytotelma of a purple pitcher plant. The eggs then gestate in the pitcher plant anywhere from 1–8 days before they hatch as larvae.
These mosquitoes undergo holometabolous development, meaning that their life cycle includes egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. There are 4 larval instars in A. albimanus. [11] The number and maturation success of eggs oviposited depends on the quality and quantity of blood taken by the female. [10]
An individual mosquito can be heard across 2–5 cm in distance when sound level rises to 22-25 dB. [7] Male and female mosquitoes can also be distinguished by their wingbeat frequencies, which are 700–800 Hz for males and 400–500 Hz for females. [7] As a result, flight sounds are used to determine flight activity and distinguish sex of groups.
Culex or typical mosquitoes are a genus of mosquitoes, several species of which serve as vectors of one or more important diseases of birds, humans, and other animals. The diseases they vector include arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus , Japanese encephalitis , or St. Louis encephalitis , but also filariasis and avian malaria .