Mosquitoes.+they+suck.

Mosquitoes are found in order Diptera within the suborder Nematocera (midges, mosquitoes, and other long-horned flies) and the family Culcidae. Mosquitoes are closely related to biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), frog midges (Corethrellidae), phantom midges (Chaoboridae), black files (Simuliidae), moth flies (Psychodidae), wood gnats (Anisopodidae), minute black scavenger flies (Psychodidae), and nonbiting midges. 150 species occur in the United States, and of these, the genus //Aedes// is most infamous for biting humans.

Of the biting species within Nematocera, only females consume blood. Males feed on carbohydrate-rich foods like nectar and honeydew. Females penetrate their "victims" with a long beak-like proboscis. Long, needle-like mandibles, serrated maxillae, and a long tube are inserted into the skin and used to find a blood vessel. Special chemicals in the mosquitos' saliva are used to prevent blood from clotting. This same chemical is what make's mosquito bites itchy for days afterward.

All mosquitoes depend on the presence of standing water to begin their development. Mosquitoes in the genus //Aedes// lay their eggs one by one in places subject to spring flooding. When conditions are right (increasing water temperature and decreasing oxygen), the eggs hatch. Usually found just below the water surface, larvae consume microorganisms that they have filtered from the water. The larvae molts four times before it becomes a pupa, which is lighter than the larvae and floats on the surface of the water. Within four days, the pupa has developed into an adult.

Sources:

Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District. (n.d.) .//Biological notes on mosquitoes//. Retrieved from http://www.mosquitoes.org/LifeCycle.html

Marshall, Stephen A. 2006. //Insects: their natural history and diversity//. Ontario: Firefly Books.

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K. Finan