The Mystery of Mosquito Blood-Sucking

When you think of summer , what do you imagine?

Anyone who has visited our website will immediately answer, "mosquitoes sucking blood" !

Today, I will be going deeper into the topic of mosquitoes sucking blood, going beyond general knowledge. Here, I will be talking about Aedes albopictus, the species that most people are bitten by during the day.

Only female mosquitoes suck blood.

Relatively many people know this. Most female mosquito species suck blood from animals in order to lay eggs.

Unmated females have a low desire to drink blood.

There is another important point regarding blood-sucking among females. Most females that drink blood are in a "post-mating" state. In other words, if they are not mated, even if they are female, they are reluctant to drink blood.

A fully-fed female mosquito can suck up to 2 milligrams of blood.

When a mosquito bites, it takes in 2 milligrams of blood. However, there are some larger mosquito species that can take in more than 2 milligrams.

After feeding, it takes about three days for them to lay eggs.

After sucking blood, the color of the mosquito's abdomen gradually changes from red to white. At this time, it digests the blood and scatters a dark liquid from its rear end. When the mosquito's abdomen turns white, eggs are formed inside the abdomen. After that, the female lays eggs on the edge of a moist puddle.

Female and male mosquitoes are easy to distinguish.

Let's say you can tell the difference between males and females by the fact that they come to suck blood. But what about males? In fact, males have fluffy antennae and clothespin-like structures at the tip of their abdomens. Once you understand these characteristics, you will gradually be able to determine the sex of a mosquito!

Male mosquitoes' nutritional source is nectar and fruit juices from plants.

Male mosquitoes do not bite humans. Even female mosquitoes live on nectar and fruit juices before mating, when they do not need to suck blood. When they are raised in laboratories, they are fed sugar water.

So, what do you think of these 6 surprising facts about mosquitoes' blood-sucking habits? We tend to treat mosquitoes as a nuisance, but by learning about their ecology, we hope you can see them in a slightly different light. The next time you see a mosquito, take a moment to think about the complex world of this tiny creature!