Small, annoying and dangerous, so are mosquitoes. We hate its buzzing and regret the skin rashes caused by its bites. Worse, these insects are transmitters of very dangerous diseases, which justifies that we often want their elimination. You want to know how long do mosquitoes live?
The mosquitoes live an average of between 10 and 15 days, although some species barely arrive a week and others can prolong their longev>
Among other curiosities about mosquitoes, we can highlight that they are capable of fly until 4 hours without rest, and that his buzz -so problematic for humans- is actually a love call.
About the bites, say that only the females, since they need protein to lay their eggs. Of course, they are capable of smell our blood at a distance of up to 50 kilometers. Amazing!
How long do mosquitoes live
Ye have said that the life span of mosquitoes is highly variable. Usually male mosquitoes can live a full week In the best conditions.
On the other hand, female mosquitoes can live a period of up to a month, its existence being significantly greater than that of any male mosquito. However, keep in mind that these times may vary.
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Where do mosquitoes live?
To say that mosquitoes live everywhere might seem like an exaggeration, but the truth is that it is not. Mosquitoes can basically live anywhere, although the warmer or more tropical the place, the better for them.
You can find large numbers of mosquitoes in wet places, land areas and sites with access to fresh water.
How tall are mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are extremely small, really tiny. So much so that they never reach beyond 15 millimeters in total. As you can see, despite their small size they are always noticeable, especially during the hottest days and the wettest times of the year.
The exception is found with giant mosquitoes or crane flies, whose wingspan can reach 7.5 centimeters.
Reproduction and life cycle of mosquitoes
The reproduction and life cycle of mosquitoes is extremely peculiar, since the eggs are laid by the female in the water. Then they become small larvae and, after a few days, they become mosquitoes.
Females usually put them for three nights in a row.
Two days after the female lays the egg, it becomes a larva. While larvae live in water, they surface to breathe. During this stage, which lasts about a week, they feed on microorganisms and organic matter.
It lasts 2 days, and it is a process during which the insect does not feed. Once the chrysalis opens, the mosquito appears.
Once in their adult phase, they live about a whole week or a month (again, depending on the sex of the mosquito, the temperature and the place where it is).
Mosquito life time
Some alert us with their buzzing as they approach, others like the unwanted tiger mosquito are quieter and also more dangerous when they bite because of their disease-transmitting effect.
The reality is that their life expectancy is short, this can vary between a little more than a week and a month approximately, usually females are longer than males. The estimated lifetime of a mosquito is always associated with various factors such as the species, sex of the mosquito, time of year, temperature or feeding:
Species: Being the approximate life expectancy of mosquitoes, this can vary depending on the many different species.
Sex: A female mosquito lives longer since its life cycle incorporates the egg laying phase and survives the hibernation period.
Season of the year and humidity: Mosquitoes are found in humid environments, this makes the driest times of the year directly affect their life expectancy.
Life cycle of mosquitoes
The shortest period of life occurs in the larva, being the longest when it reaches adulthood.
The different stages of life development of the mosquito are egg, larva, pupa or adult mosquito.
Egg
The eggs are deposited by the female one at a time or grouped in quantities that can range between 50 to 200 units, these laid are usually nocturnal, resemble small ships known as navigations that offer them the ability to float on water, other species they simply deposit them on the ground waiting for water.
The eggs before becoming larvae are incubated in warm temperatures for 3 or 4 days, and may take up to 7 days in colder climates.
Larva
After the incubation time the eggs hatch in a period of 24 to 48 hours, giving rise to the larva, completing its development to increase 12mm, always according to the species. Their feeding is done through filtration based on the organic matter of water, algae and microorganisms. This cycle consists of approximately 7 to 10 days.
Pupa
The end of the larval period is when the mosquito is transformed into a pupa, passing from water to air, this is a cycle between 48 and 72 hours, and without the need for food. The mosquito pupa remains on the water and can also be submerged by impulses.
Adult mosquitoes
The state which we fully know this insect called mosquito, in this adult phase acquires its ability to fly. After resting momentarily on the surface they begin the flight, this serves to dry their wings and thus be able to harden them.
Types and characteristics of mosquitoes
The different species of mosquitoes most common in Spain are 3:
Anopheles mosquito: In general, it seeks an environment with clean water without contaminating, executing its bites both inside and outside the dwellings. Transmitter of malaria and malaria.
The tiger mosquito: Established in Spain as an invasive spice. Of the most feared for its bulky bites and cause severe reactions to contact with your saliva. Powerful transmitter of diseases such as yellow fever, dengue fever or canine dirofilariasis
Common mosquito: It is the most common in cities, causing strong itching when it bites. Their breeding environment is stagnant waters, it is very common that they penetrate the houses to cause their uncomfortable and painful bites.
The mosquito bite
Mosquitoes are insects that inhabit the world, with thousands of species existing. The females are the ones that itch to extract the proteins and the necessary iron the blood for their feeding. Subsequently they perform the laying of eggs, the beginning of the life cycle of mosquitoes.
Although they are usually harmless and do not go beyond discomfort, itching and inflammation, on a few occasions they can be more dangerous.
Inflammations and itching: The most common reaction by contact with mosquito saliva, immune response.
Allergic reactions: Hives and anaphylaxis in the rarest cases.
Disease transmission: They can be really serious, even not all of them have vaccines for prevention, more common in Africa and tropical countries.
Diseases that can be transmitted by a mosquito
The most serious common to spread by mosquitoes are:
Chikungunya: Viral and its symptoms are strong joint pain and fever.
Dengue: Viral and its symptoms are severe pain in the joints and muscles, fever, rashes and headache.
Malaria: Parasitic and its symptoms are severe, chills with tremors, high fever and flu-like reactions.
West Nile Virus: Viral, in many cases there are no symptoms, but it can be fatal when entering the brain.
Zika: Viral, not always with symptoms. One in 5 infections have symptoms. Fever, conjunctivitis, joint pain and rashes.
Why do mosquitoes bite?
One of the causes is the attraction of these insects by body temperature and clothes dampened mainly by sweat.
There is also a study that demonstrates that they choose victims depending on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) they exhale, also when drinking beer.
One of the latest studies alert us to remember the smell of the particular person.
Whatever the cause the solution will be the same, quality mosquito nets manufactured by professionals!
Mosquitoes are small and annoying insects capable of transmitting very dangerous diseases. We tell you how much they can live.
Little ones, annoying and dangerous, so they are the mosquitos. We hate your buzz and regret skin rashes that cause us their bites.
To make matters worse, these insects they are disease transmitters very dangerous, which justifies that we often want its elimination. If you can't get it, at least we tell you how long those can last Tedious mosquitoes.
Life cycle of mosquitoes
When we question how long do mosquitoes live, we must know that the life cycle is very diverse depending on the multiple species of mosquitoes, in addition to that it will depend a lot on environmental conditions, temperature and humidity.
Stages and duration of their lives
There are four stages that a mosquito experiences in its life cycle, egg, larva, pupa and mosquito. To identify the egg, we must know that the female lays them directly in the water in quantities of fifty and up to two hundred.
They can be distinguished by the fact that they get together on the water, as forming a kind of raft. These are incubated between 3 and 4 days in hot climates, being able to take, in colder environments, a week approximately.
However, the vast majority of mosquitoes are characterized by their short life expectancy. The life of a mosquito usually oscillates between a week and a month, that is, between 10 and 30 days. The females, generally, have a life expectancy superior to the one of the males.
How long does a female mosquito live?
As with humans, the females They usually live longer than males. Only in your case much more.
In the adult phase, when they become annoying, they can usually live between a week and a month. This is the same as males, although it will always depend on the specific species.
However, the funny thing is that some females they can even "hibernate" inside houses, stables or animal dens, which allows them live up to half a year.
The curious fact: why bite?
Did you know the only ones that itch Are the females? This is because this genre needs blood to be able to create the eggsotherwise this one I could die without having kids. For our misfortune, as we mentioned above, it is the female mosquitoes that they live longer ...
The mosquito life cycle
The duration of mosquito life It depends on many factors: humidity, temperature, mosquito sex and the time of year. Males usually live short times - about a week - while females survive for up to a month.
The mosquito goes through four stages, in which it can be recognized by its appearance:
The female lays the eggs one at a time, and floats in the water, some making egg rafts that can reach thousands. They usually put them during the night, for three nights in a row. 48 hours later, the mosquitoes will become larvae.
The larvae they live in the water and go out to breathe on the surface thanks to a kind of siphon they have - although some species do not have this. They move their skin to four times their size, and feed on microorganisms and organic matter in the water. They are vulnerable to low temperatures - they are cold-blooded animals - and natural predators. This process takes about a week.
The pupa does not feed, it just rests. It is the previous step for the mosquito to become an adult, and the process takes approximately two days. At that moment the chrysalis opens and "the mosquito" is born. During this stage, the mosquito has a short and curved body, with a large head and fins for swimming.
The adult just out of the chrysalis rests a few moments on the surface of the water to dry and harden, mainly the wings. Mosquitoes have two huge eyes, six legs, two wings and a thorax.
Why do mosquitoes bite?
There are more than 2,500 different species of mosquitoes worldwide. However, despite their differences, they have a primary similarity: everyone needs water to complete their life cycle. The type of water in which the larva is generated will probably determine the type of mosquito, but the truth is that mosquitoes can grow anywhere.
It is only adult females that bite humans and animals, while males feed on vegetable juices. This is because the female needs the blood to be able to create eggs, otherwise she will probably die without breeding. The blood search is performed for approximately two hours and overnight. It is the carbon dioxide we exhale and the lactic acid in our sweat that attracts mosquitoes. To bite us, the females use a serrated proboscis, and they also inject an anticoagulant and an analgesic into us - whose effect lasts a short time.
Unfortunately, females, which are the ones that bite us, are the ones that live for a longer period of time. Anyway, we must bear in mind that this is in the ideal conditions, although it seems that they are very resistant insects that have been on our planet for more than 200 million years.
