Male Aedes mosquitoes don't suck blood! How to tell them apart from females

Everyone, today I would like to focus on the morphological differences between male and female mosquitoes, especially the differences in their antennae! These are images of male and female Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, but can you tell which is which?

By the way, male mosquitoes do not suck blood! Let's try to identify the gender of the mosquito that flies towards us and determine whether it will suck our blood. Here are some points to distinguish between them.

1. Shape of the haptics
- Males: The males' antennae look like fluffy feathers and are called "feathered".
- Female: The female's antennae are shaped like thin rods and are simpler than those of the male.

In the image above, you can see that the one on the right is a male and the one on the left is a female!

2. The role of touch
- Male: Male antennae function as antennae to find females. They have bushy antennae that detect the sound of the females' wings when they fly. In the case of Aedes mosquitoes, they can also detect the scent of humans and animals, and target females that approach animals.
- Females: Female antennae are primarily used for smell detection, detecting the scent of humans and animals to find targets for a blood meal.

3. Other Differences Besides antennae, there are other differences between males and females:
- Size: Females are generally a bit larger than males.
- Mouthparts: Females have a sharp proboscis that they use to pierce the skin and suck blood. Males lack this structure.

Interesting! As you can see, there are clear differences between male and female mosquitoes. The difference in their antennae is particularly noticeable and can be easily seen with the naked eye.

The next time you see a mosquito, take a good look at its antennae. You'll be amazed when you see them in person!