Mosquito and mosquita (from the Spanish_languagemeaning Diminutive FlyAnswers.com) is a common Insectin the Family_(biology) Culicidae (from the Latinculex meaning midge or gnatAnswers.com). Mosquitoes resemble Crane_fly(family Tipulidae) and Chironomidae(family Chironomidae), with which they are sometimes confused by the casual observer.

Mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycle: Egg_(biology), Larva, Pupa, and adult or Imago. Adult females lay their eggs in water, which can be a salt-marsh, a lake, a puddle, a natural reservoir on a plant, or an artificial water container such as a plastic bucket. The first three stages are aquatic and last 5--14 days, depending on the species and the ambient temperature; eggs hatch to become Larva, then Pupa. The adult mosquito emerges from the pupa as it floats at the water surface. Adult females can live up to a month --- more in captivity --- but most probably do not live more than 1--2 weeks in nature.

Mosquitoes have Mouthpartswhich are adapted for piercing the skin of plants and animals. They typically feed on nectar and plant juices. In some species, the female needs to obtain nutrients from a "blood meal" before she can produce eggs.

There are about 3,500 species of mosquitoes found throughout the world. In some species of mosquito, the females feed on humans, and are therefore Vector_(epidemiology) for a number of infectious diseases affecting millions of people per year.Larva File:Anopheles_larve.jpgAnopheleslarva from southern Germany, about 8 mm long

Mosquito larvae have a well-developed head with mouth brushes used for feeding, a large Thoraxwith no legs and a segmented Abdomen.

Larvae breathe through Spiraclelocated on the eighth abdominal segment, or through a siphon, and therefore must come to the surface frequently. The larvae spend most of their time feeding on Algae, Bacteria, and other microorganisms in the surface http://wiki.answers.com/w/index.php?title=Microlayer&action=edit&redlink=1. They dive below the surface only when disturbed. Larvae swim either through Marine_propulsionwith the mouth brushes, or by jerky movements of the entire body, giving them the common name of "wigglers" or "wrigglers".

Larvae develop through four stages, or Instar, after which they Metamorphosisinto Pupae. At the end of each instar, the larvae molt, shedding their exoskeleton, or skin, to allow for further growth.

Pupa

The pupa is comma-shaped, as in Anopheles when viewed from the side, and is commonly called a "tumbler". The head and Thoraxare merged into a Cephalothoraxwith the abdomen curving around underneath. As with the larvae, pupae must come to the surface frequently to breathe, which they do through a pair of respiratory trumpets on the cephalothorax. However, pupae do not feed during this stage. After a few days, the pupa rises to the water surface, the dorsal surface of the cephalothorax splits and the adult mosquito emerges.The pupa is less active than larvae.

AdultFile:Aedes_aegypti_E-A-Goeldi_1905.jpgAdults of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes_aegypti, a typical member of the subfamily Culicinae. The male on the left, females on the right. Note the bushy antennae and longer Mouthpartsin the male.

The duration from egg to adult varies considerably among species and is strongly influenced by ambient temperature. Mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in as little as five days but usually take 10--14 days in tropical conditions. The variation of the body size in adult mosquitoes depends on the density of the larval population and food supply within the breeding water. Adult flying mosquitoes frequently rest in a tunnel that they build right below the roots of the grass.

Adult mosquitoes usually mate within a few days after emerging from the pupal stage. In most species, the males form large Swarm, usually around dusk, and the females fly into the swarms to mate.

Males live for about a week, feeding on Nectarand other sources of Sugar. Females will also feed on sugar sources for energy but usually require a blood meal for the development of eggs. After obtaining a full blood meal, the female will rest for a few days while the blood is digested and eggs are developed. This process depends on the temperature but usually takes 2--3 days in tropical conditions. Once the eggs are fully developed, the female lays them and resumes host seeking.

The cycle repeats itself until the female dies. While females can live longer than a month in captivity, most do not live longer than 1--2 weeks in nature. Their lifespan depends on temperature, humidity, and also their ability to successfully obtain a blood meal while avoiding host defenses.

Length of the adult varies but is rarely greater than 16 mm (0.6 in)Answers.com, and weight up to 2.5 Milligram(0.04 Grain_(measure)). All mosquitoes have slender bodies with three sections: Head, Thoraxand Abdomen.

The Headis specialized for acquiring sensory information and for feeding. The head contains the eyes and a pair of long, many-segmented Antenna_(biology). The antennae are important for detecting host odors as well as odors of breeding sites where females lay eggs. In all mosquito species, the Antenna_(biology) of the males in comparison to the females are noticeably bushier and contain auditory receptors to detect the characteristic whine of the female. The Compound_eyesare distinctly separated from one another. Their larvae only possess a pit-eye ocellus. The compound eyes of adults develop in a separate region of the head.Answers.comNew ommatidia are added in semicircular rows at the rear of the eye; during the first phase of growth, this leads to individual ommatidia being square, but later in development they become hexagonal. The hexagonal pattern will only become visible when the carapace of the stage with square eyes is molted.Answers.comThe head also has an elongated, forward-projecting "stinger-like" proboscis used for feeding, and two sensory palps. The maxillary palps of the males are longer than their proboscis whereas the females' maxillary palps are much shorter. (This is typical for representatives of Subfamilies.) As with many members of the mosquito family, the female is equipped with an elongated proboscis that she uses to collect Bloodto feed her eggs.

The Thoraxis specialized for locomotion. Three pairs of legs and a pair of wings are attached to the thorax. The Insect_wingis an outgrowth of the exoskeleton. The Anopheles mosquito can fly for up to four hours continuously at up to 1--2 km/hAnswers.comtravelling up to 12 km (7.5 mi) in a night.

The Abdomenis specialized for food digestion and egg development. This segmented body part expands considerably when a female takes a blood meal. The blood is digested over time serving as a source of Proteinfor the production of eggs, which gradually fill the Abdomen.

Feeding habits of adultsFile:Aedes_aegypti.jpgAedes_aegyptivector of Dengue_feverand Yellow_fever

Both male and female mosquitoes are Nectar_source Fluid_feeder, but the females of many species are also capable of Hematophagy(drinking blood). Females do not require blood for their own survival, but they do need supplemental substances such as protein and iron to develop eggs. In regards to Host_(biology) location, Carbon_dioxideand organic substances produced from the host, humidity, and optical recognition play important roles. In Aedes the search for a host takes place in two phases. First, the mosquito exhibits a nonspecific searching behavior until the perception of host stimulants then it follows a targeted approach.Answers.com

Most mosquito species are Crepuscular(Dawnor Dusk) feeders. During the heat of the day most mosquitoes rest in a cool place and wait for the evenings, although they may still bite if disturbed. Some species, like Asian_tiger_mosquito, are known to fly and feed during daytime. File:Mosquito_on_Flower.JPGBoth male and female are nectar feeders

Mosquitoes are adept at infiltration and have been known to find their way into residences via deactivated air conditioning units.Answers.com

Prior to and during blood feeding, they inject saliva into the bodies of their source(s) of blood. This saliva serves as an Anticoagulant: without it, the female mosquito's proboscis would quickly become clogged with blood clots. Female mosquitoes hunt their blood host by detecting Carbon_dioxide(CO2) and 1-Octen-3-olfrom a distance.

Mosquitoes of the genus Toxorhynchitesnever drink blood.Answers.comThis Genusincludes the largest extant mosquitoes, the larvae of which prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes. These mosquito eaters have been used in the past as mosquito control agents, with varying success.Answers.com

Saliva

In order for the mosquito to obtain a blood meal it must circumvent the Vertebratephysiological responses. The mosquito, as with all blood-feeding Arthropods, has mechanisms to effectively block the Hemostasissystem with their saliva, which contains a mixture of secreted proteins. Mosquito saliva negatively affects Vascular_constriction, Blood_clotting, Plateletaggregation, Angiogenesisand Immunity_(medical) and creates Inflammation.Answers.comUniversally, hematophagous arthropod saliva contains at least one anticlotting, one anti-platelet, and one vasodilatory substance. Mosquito saliva also contains enzymes that aid in sugar feedingAnswers.comand Antimicrobial_agentsto control bacterial growth in the sugar meal.Answers.comThe composition of mosquito saliva is relatively simple as it usually contains fewer than 20 dominant Proteins.Answers.comDespite the great strides in knowledge of these molecules and their role in bloodfeeding achieved recently, scientists still cannot ascribe functions to more than half of the molecules found in Arthropodsaliva.Answers.comOne promising application is the development of anti-clotting drugs based on saliva molecules, which might be useful for approaching heart-related disease, because they are more user-friendly blood clotting inhibitors and capillary dilators.Answers.com

It is now well recognized that the feeding ticks, sandflies, and, more recently, mosquitoes have an ability to modulate the Immune_responseof the animals (hosts) they feed on.Answers.comThe presence of this activity in vector saliva is a reflection of the inherent overlapping and interconnected nature of the host Hemostaticand Immunologicalresponses and the intrinsic need to prevent these host defenses from disrupting successful feeding. The mechanism for mosquito saliva-induced alteration of the host immune response is unclear, but the data has become increasingly convincing that such an effect occurs. Early work described a factor in saliva that directly suppresses TNF-Î± release, but not antigen-induced Histaminesecretion, from activated Mast_cells.Answers.comExperiments by Cross et al. (1994) demonstrated that the inclusion of Ae. aegypti mosquito saliva into naïve cultures led to a suppression of Interleukin(IL)-2 and IFN-Î³ production, while the cytokines IL-4and IL-5are unaffected by mosquito saliva.Answers.comCellular proliferation in response to IL-2 is clearly reduced by prior treatment of cells with SGE.Answers.comCorrespondingly, activated Splenocyteisolated from mice fed upon by either Ae. aegypti or Cx. pipiens mosquitoes produce markedly higher levels of IL-4 and IL-10concurrent with suppressed IFN-γ production.Answers.comUnexpectedly, this shift in cytokine expression is observed in splenocytes up to 10 days after mosquito exposure, suggesting that natural feeding of mosquitoes can have a profound, enduring, and systemic effect on the immune response.Answers.com

T_cellpopulations are decidedly susceptible to the suppressive effect of mosquito saliva, showing enhanced mortality and decreased division rates.Answers.comParallel work by Wasserman et al. (2004) demonstrated that T- and B-cellproliferation was inhibited in a dose dependent manner with concentrations as low as 1/7th of the saliva in a single mosquito.Answers.comDepinay et al. (2005) observed a suppression of antibody-specific T cell responses mediated by mosquito saliva and dependent on mast cells and IL-10 expression.Answers.comA recent study suggests that mosquito saliva can also decrease expression of Interferon−α/β during early mosquito-borne virus infection.Answers.comThe contribution of type I interferons (IFN) in recovery from infection with viruses has been demonstrated in vivo by the therapeutic and prophylactic effects of administration of IFN-inducers or IFN,Answers.comand recent research suggests that mosquito saliva exacerbates West_Nile_virusinfection,Answers.comas well as other mosquito-transmitted viruses.Answers.com

Egg development and blood digestion

Two important events in the life of female mosquitoes are egg development and blood digestion. After taking a blood meal the midgut of the female synthesizes proteolytic enzymes that hydrolyze the blood proteins into free amino acids. These are used as building blocks for the synthesis of egg yolk proteins.

In the mosquito Anopheles stephensi Liston, trypsin activity is restricted entirely to the posterior midgut lumen. No trypsin activity occurs before the blood meal, but activity increases continuously up to 30 hours after feeding, and subsequently returns to baseline levels by 60 hours. Aminopeptidase is active in the anterior and posterior midgut regions before and after feeding. In the whole midgut, activity rises from a baseline of approximately 3 enzyme units (EU) per midgut to a maximum of 12 EU at 30 hours after the blood meal, subsequently falling to baseline levels by 60 hours. A similar cycle of activity occurs in the posterior midgut and posterior midgut lumen, whereas aminopeptidase in the posterior midgut epithelium decreases in activity during digestion. Aminopeptidase in the anterior midgut is maintained at a constant low level, showing no significant variation with time after feeding. alpha-glucosidase is active in anterior and posterior midguts before and at all times after feeding. In whole midgut homogenates, alpha-glucosidase activity increases slowly up to 18 hours after the blood meal, then rises rapidly to a maximum at 30 hours after the blood meal, whereas the subsequent decline in activity is less predictable. All posterior midgut activity is restricted to the posterior midgut lumen. Depending upon the time after feeding, greater than 25% of the total midgut activity of alpha-glucosidase is located in the anterior midgut. After blood meal ingestion, proteases are active only in the posterior midgut. Trypsin is the major primary hydrolytic protease and is secreted into the posterior midgut lumen without activation in the posterior midgut epithelium. Aminopeptidase activity is also luminal in the posterior midgut, but cellular aminopeptidases are required for peptide processing in both anterior and posterior midguts. Alpha-glucosidase activity is elevated in the posterior midgut after feeding in response to the blood meal, whereas activity in the anterior midgut is consistent with a nectar-processing role for this midgut region.Answers.com

DistributionFile:Mosquito_Tasmania_crop.jpgFemale http://wiki.answers.com/w/index.php?title=Ochlerotatus_notoscriptus&action=edit&redlink=1feeding on a human arm, Tasmania, Australia

While many species are native to tropical and subtropical regions, some such as Aedeshave successfully adapted to cooler regions. In the warm and humid tropical regions, they are active the entire year long; however, in temperate regions they hibernate over winter. Eggs from strains in the Temperate_zoneare more tolerant to the cold than ones from warmer regions.Answers.com Answers.comThey can even tolerate snow and temperatures under freezing. In addition, adults can survive throughout winter in suitable microhabitats.Answers.com

Means of dispersal

Over large distances the worldwide distribution is carried out primarily through sea routes, in which the eggs, larvae, and pupae in combination with water-filled used tires and cut flowers are transported around. As with sea transport, the transport of mosquitoes in personal vehicles, delivery trucks, and trains plays an important role.

DiseaseFile:Anopheles_albimanus_mosquito.jpghttp://wiki.answers.com/w/index.php?title=Anopheles_albimanus&action=edit&redlink=1mosquito feeding on a human arm. This mosquito is a vector of Malariaand mosquito control is a very effective way of reducing the incidence of malaria.

Main articles: Mosquito-borne_diseaseand Life-threatening_disease

Mosquitoes are a Vector_(epidemiology) agent that carries disease-causing Virusand Parasitefrom person to person without catching the disease themselves.

The principal mosquito borne diseases are the viral diseases Yellow_fever, Dengue_feverand Chikungunya, transmitted mostly by the Aedes_aegypti, and Malariacarried by the genus Anopheles. Though originally a public health concern, HIVis now thought to be almost impossible for mosquitoes to transmit.Answers.com

Mosquitoes are estimated to transmit disease to more than 700 million people annually in Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and much of Asia with millions of resulting deaths. At least 2 million people annually die of these diseases.

Methods used to prevent the spread of disease, or to protect individuals in areas where disease is endemic include Vector_controlaimed at Mosquito_control, disease prevention, using prophylactic drugs and developing vaccines and prevention of mosquito bites, with Insecticides, Mosquito_netand Insect_repellent. Since most such diseases are carried by "elderly" females, scientists have suggested focusing on these to avoid the evolution of resistance.Answers.com

ControlFile:Mosquito_larvae_enh.jpgLarvae in stagnant water

Main article: Mosquito_control

There are many methods used for mosquito control. Depending on the situation, source reduction, biocontrol, Insecticides to kill Larvicide, or specifically the adults may be used to manage mosquito populations.

These techniques are accomplished using habitat modification, such as removing stagnant water and other breeding areas, Pesticidelike DDT, natural predators, (eg Dragonflies, larvae-eating fish), and trapping.

Organic repellents

With increasing reports of the harmful effects DEEThas on humans, there has been a gradual move to rely on repellents that are devoid of it, specifically to repellents that are organic and otherwise are of the kind that have had traditional household purposes prior to their becoming used now more often as mosquito repellents.Answers.com

Natural predatorsDragonflyare natural predators of mosquitoes.

The Dragonflynymph eats mosquitoes at all stages of development and is quite effective in controlling populations.Answers.comAlthough Batand Purple_Martincan be prodigious consumers of insects, many of which are pests, less than 1% of their diet typically consists of mosquitoes. Neither bats nor Purple Martins are known to control or even significantly reduce mosquito populations.Answers.comSome Mesocyclops Copepodsare predators on first instar larvae, killing up to 40 Aedes larvae per day.Answers.comLarval Toxorhynchitesmosquitoes are known as natural predators of other Culicidae. Each larva can eat an average of 10 to 20 mosquito larvae per day. During its entire development, a Toxorhynchites larva can consume an equivalent of 5,000 larvae of the first instar (L1) or 300 fourth instar larvae (L4) (Steffan & Evenhuis, 1981; Focks, 1982). However, Toxorhynchites can consume all types of prey, organic debris (Steffan & Evenhuis, 1981), or even exhibit cannibalistic behavior. A number of fish are also known to consume mosquito larvae, including Bass_(fish), Bluegill, Piranha, Catfish, Fathead_minnow, the Mosquitofish(Gambusia affinis), Goldfish, Guppy, and Killifish.

Bacillus_thuringiensis_israelensishas also been used to control them as a biological agent.

Mosquito bites and treatment

Mosquito prefer some people over others. The preferential victim's sweat simply smells better than others because of the proportions of the carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up body odour Answers.com. The powerful Semiochemicalthat triggers the mosquito's keen sense of smell is Nonanal.Answers.comA large part of the mosquito's sense of smell, or olfactory system, is devoted to sniffing out human targets. Of 72 types of odour receptor on its antennae, at least 27 are tuned to detect chemicals found in perspiration.Answers.com

Visible, irritating bites are due to an Immune_systemfrom the binding of IgGand IgE Antibodiesto Antigensin the mosquito's Saliva. Some of the sensitizing antigens are common to all mosquito species, whereas others are specific to certain species. There are both immediate hypersensitivity reactions (Hypersensitivity& Hypersensitivity) and delayed hypersensitivity reactions (Type_IV_hypersensitivity) to mosquito bites (see Clements, 2000).

There are several commercially available Antipruriticmedications, including those taken orally, such as Benadryl, or topically applied Antihistamineand, for more severe cases, Corticosteroidssuch as Hydrocortisoneand Triamcinolone. Many effective Home_remedyexist, including Calamine_lotionand Vinegar. A paste of meat tenderizer containing Papainand water breaks down the proteins in the mosquito saliva. Both using a brush to scratch the area surrounding the bite and running hot water (around 49 °C) over it can alleviate itching for several hours by reducing histamine-induced skin blood flow.Answers.comOn the other hand, excessive scratching can irritate the bite and break the skin, leading to prolonged recovery and the possibility of infection or scarring.[Wikipedia:Citation_needed]

Cultural viewsFile:Mosquito_in_amber.jpgA mosquito in Baltic_amber

According to the "Mosquitoes" chapter in Kwaidan:_Stories_and_Studies_of_Strange_Things, by Lafcadio_Hearn(1850--1904), mosquitoes are seen in Japanese popular belief as reincarnations of the dead, condemned by the errors of their former lives to the condition of Jiki-ketsu-gaki'," or "blood-drinking Hungry_ghost."Answers.com

Evolution

The oldest known mosquito with a basically modern anatomy was found in 79-million-year-old Canadian Amberfrom the Cretaceous.Answers.comAn older sister species with more primitive features was found in amber that is 90 to 100 million years old.Answers.com

Genetic analyses indicate that the Culicinae and Anophelinae clades may have diverged about 150 million years ago.Answers.comThe Old and New World Anopheles species are believed to have subsequently diverged about 95 million years ago.Answers.com

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