Why Mosquitoes Are the Most Deadly Animals

Take malaria for example, this disease is specifically spread by mosquitoes. Infected with malaria, you will feel cold and hot alternately, and also vomit, headache and unconsciousness, and even death. If you have read ancient novels, the 'miasmic air' mentioned in it refers to malaria. In 1949, at that time, the population of China was only 540 million, and 30 million people had malaria, and many people died from malaria. However, now, our country's medical conditions are getting better and better, and malaria has become a rare disease. However, in some poor areas of Africa and Southeast Asia, the weather is hot, there are many mosquitoes, and the sanitation is poor, so malaria is still very prevalent and deadly, especially for the elderly and children. In Africa, more than 300,000 children under five years old die from malaria each year, which is terrible!

It is worth mentioning that a great female scientist, Yuan Longping, lived in China. She extracted Qinghaosu, a drug for treating malaria, from the plant called Huanghua, and she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015 for this. Now Qinghaosu is still the standard drug for treating malaria all over the world. It is not only effective but also very cheap, saving many people's lives.

Let's talk about mosquitoes again. You don't need to be afraid of mosquitoes. In fact, mosquitoes are a very large family. The mosquitoes we are familiar with and dislike are only a small part of them. Moreover, not all mosquitoes transmit diseases. Let's observe a typical mosquito through the audio cover. The name of this mosquito is Flower-foot mosquito, you must have seen it. The scientific name is white-marked mosquito, also known as Asian tiger mosquito, it is a common blood-sucking mosquito that can also transmit diseases.

White-marked mosquito – three-butterfly teacher (photographed by)

First, let's look at the antennae, mosquito antennae are longer than their head and thorax, you can think about it, compared to the antennae of flies, are they shorter? Then look at the wings of mosquitoes, generally insects have two pairs of wings, mosquitoes have one pair of wings that have been specially developed into two structures like firefly sticks, this structure is called balance bar, which plays a role in balancing the body. Then look at the mouth of the mosquito, also known as its mouthparts, which looks like a needle tube, this is its weapon, it can pierce our skin and suck blood.

How mosquitoes suck blood, I will tell you in detail. First, how do mosquitoes find people? They use their antennae to quickly discover the smell and carbon dioxide of the human body, and then find their target based on the scent. Then the mosquito gently lands on the target. The mosquito's needle-like mouthparts are its surgical tools. This needle, which looks like only one, actually consists of six needles, and these six needles have a clear division of labor. Some are responsible for exploring the surface of the skin and finding the location of the blood vessels, some are responsible for cutting the skin and breaking the blood vessels, and some are responsible for sucking blood. This six needles work in perfect cooperation and can suck blood from the prey.

White-marked mosquito sucks blood – three-butterfly teacher (photographed by)

You should know that female mosquitoes suck blood, male mosquitoes do not suck blood, they only drink plant sap, water and nectar.

Female and male mosquitoes are mated and the female mosquito will lay eggs on the water. Each type of mosquito lays eggs differently. Some lay eggs in a small boat shape, and some spread out and float on the water. In the summer, these eggs can hatch in one day. The larvae of mosquitoes are mainly eaten by water microorganisms and organic matter. If the space is not big enough, they will fight with each other. After hatching from the egg, the larvae will go through four molts before floating to the surface to pupate. The name of the mosquito larvae is called pupae. The pupa stage is spent in water, and they don't eat much. The larvae have a special name, called 'red worms', which is a common name for larvae in southern China. Many fish like to eat them.

Mosquito larvae – three-butterfly teacher (larva photographed by)

What do the larvae eat? They mainly eat microorganisms and organic matter in the water. If the space is not large enough, they will fight with each other. After hatching from the egg, the larvae will go through four molts before floating to the surface to pupate.

The pupa stage is very short, only a few minutes, unlike many insects, the pupation process takes an hour. After the pupa hatches, the mosquito can fly out of the water and start a free life, from egg to adult in just one week. Female mosquitoes live only one month, so they will seize the time to suck blood and lay eggs in one month, leaving enough children.

Do you know that mosquitoes prefer dark clothes? If you go to the wild to observe insects, it is best to wear light-colored long clothes.

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Do you realize that small mosquitoes can be so terrible? Three-butterfly teacher often conducts scientific investigations in full of mosquitoes forests, so she shares with you the mosquito repellent tips that are particularly practical. When you come to summer, you can try them out.

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