Mosquito Lifespan and Body

What happens when a mosquito bites you? How does a mosquito work? To answer these questions, we need to look at the body and lifespan of a mosquito.

The mosquito has three segments to it’s body; the head, thorax and abdomen. The head of the mosquito contains three types of sensors which it uses to track down it’s victim. The head is also home to the proboscis (females only). The proboscis is a long piercing device used to puncture the skin. Wings and legs are attached to the thorax, and the mosquitoes fuel tank, or abdomen, is attached to the thorax. It’s a sleak design perfected for one thing; finding and sucking blood. With such a pathetic purpose it’s not surprising the mosquito lifespan is only a few weeks.

The mosquito hatches from eggs and goes through various stages of maturity on it’s way to adulthood. Eggs are laid in water. (That’s why it’s important to remove any areas of standing water you may have. Change the water in your birdbath frequently during hot summer weeks. This will help eliminate the possibility of eggs being laid.)

The first two stages occur in the water. (You can use a homemade mosquito repellent to kill them when they enter this stage.) Larvae hatch from the eggs. During this stage, they use a siphon to breathe above water, but spend their time molting and swimming underneath the surface. Pupae form after the larva molts four times. The pupae float on top of the water, breathing through tubes called trumpets. At the end of this stage, the pupae form into adults. They form wings and can fly.

When a female mosquito lands on you, she’ll puncture your skin with her proboscis. The mosquitoe’s saliva contains anticoagulants that keep it’s victim’s blood from clotting. A female mosquito will suck enough blood to fill it’s abdomen. Treating the mosquito bite should be done as soon as possible to help relieve the itch. If you’re on the go, you may want to stay prepared by carrying a quick remedy to stop the mosquito bite itch.

Using a repellent that works is your first step in avoiding having this process occur. Sometimes it’s difficult to avoid, but next time you get bit you’ll know how the mosquito bite works.