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Mosquitos

• Small, long-legged, 2-winged insects
  Differ from other flies in having 2 characters in combination:
  Elongate proboscis
  Scales on wing veins and wing margin

Mosquito Life History

• Four distinct stages in life cycle :
  Egg
  Larva
  Pupa
  Adult
  1st three stages occur in the water
  Adult is an active flying insect

Mosquito Life History: Eggs

Mosquito eggs fall into 3 distinct groups
Laid singly on the water surface
Glued together to form rafts which float on water surface
Laid singly out of the water
Differences reflected in structure of egg

Mosquito Life History: Larvae

Live in water and have 4 instars
Wigglers or wrigglers
Adapted to all kinds of aquatic habitats (except flowing streams and open large water areas)
Get food from water in which they live
Must come to surface for air
Mosquito larvae have bodies that are covered with bristles.
They have a siphon at the tail end of the body
The siphon permits the larvae to breathe by penetrating the surface of the water and allowing the larvae to breathe
Oils (Larvicide Oil) and monomolecular films (Arosurf) prevent the larvae from breathing; they die from suffocation.

Mosquito Dunks

Larvicide Oil
Aerosurf >>

Mosquito Life History: Pupae

Mosquito pupae also have bristles on their bodies.
Some of these bristles allow the pupae to float directly below the surface of the water.
The pupae breathe by using their respiratory "trumpets" to draw air directly from the atmosphere.
Pupae can be killed by cutting off their access to the atmosphere with Oils (Larvicide Oil) and monomolecular films (Arosurf)

Mosquito Dunks
Larvicide Oil
Aerosurf >>

Mosquito Biology Adults

Three Sub-Families
Anopheles
Aedes
Culex

Anopheles

Eggs with floats
Larvae lay parallel to surface (they lack a breathing tube)
Palps long
Adult Resting Position 400-900

Culex

Eggs laid in rafts on fresh water such as pools, ditches, and ponds
Adult Resting Position parallel to surface

Aedes

Eggs deposited singly
Larvae angle down 450
Palps short
At rest low and flat

Mosquito Breeding Habitats

Temporary Woodland Pools
Roadside Ditches
Freshwater Ponds
Artificial Containers
Tree Holes
Freshwater Marshes
Hardwood and Coniferous Freshwater Swamps

Floodwater Mosquitoes (Temporary Pool)

Includes most pestiferous species known
Deposit eggs in damp soil at water line (undergo conditioning process or drying before hatching)
Eggs hatch when they are flooded by water (installment hatching)
Extended flight range
Readily feed on humans
Attack at all hours of day (most active at dusk and dawn)

Mosquito Habitats: Floodwater

Habitats:

Shaded depressions
Open or shaded pools
Open depressions
Ditches

Mosquito Habitats: Container Mosquitoes

Preference for laying eggs in artificial containers like tires, pet bowls, and bird baths
“Domestic” mosquitoes
Deposit eggs either on water surface in container or at water line on sides of container
Limited flight range (about a city block)
Important disease vectors in U.S.

Tires
Pet bowls
Buckets
Bird baths
Cemetery urns
Tree holes

Permanent Pool Mosquitoes

Larvae complete development in permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water (>3 weeks)
Examples include

Lakes, reservoirs

Ponds

Swamps

Marshes

Sewage lagoons

Develop continuously throughout season of development

Limited flight range, usually feeding at dusk and for several hours into night

Mosquito Habitats: Permanent Pool

Habitat

Lakes

Reservoirs

Swamps

Ditches

Stream pools

Marshes

Wetlands

Mosquito-Borne Diseases

Reason mosquitos are a problem

Their blood feeding habits
Only females blood feed

Bites cause stress

Secondary infections

Disease

Interference with human activities (recreational and industrial development)

Mosquitoes and Disease

Three types of Mosquito transmitted diseases

Malaria
Arboviruses

Yellow Fever, Dengue, SLE, WNV, EEE
Filariasis
Dog Heart Worm

Mosquito Biology: Arboviruses

Mosquito-borne viruses are part of a group of pathogens known as arthropod-borne viruses, or arboviruses. Blood-sucking insects usually spread arboviruses.

Arboviruses

Require a host (usually a bird or small mammal) in which they maintain themselves in nature and a vector, such as a mosquito, to get around and infect other organisms.

Female mosquitoes may ingest a virus from an infected host and later pass the infection in their saliva when they bite another animal. Of the animals on which mosquitoes feed, birds are among the best-known hosts for arboviruses.

Wild and domestic birds are the most common vertebrate hosts for the West Nile virus, thus making the disease extremely mobile. Crows, chickens, pigeons, and hawks are among those carriers of the virus which once infected and cross state lines are bitten by a local mosquito which bites a local crow, you get the point. Movement is rapid. Quarantine is next to impossible.

Humans and other animals such as horses are dead-end hosts for most arboviruses; they do not pass the virus to others or back to mosquitoes.

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