> Mosquito Bite Treatment. Click here

At best, these flying ‘leeches’ are infuriating, drive you insane looking for them as you are trying to get the children off to bed and leave unsightly blotches all over your skin. At worst they are one of the biggest killers of humans to ‘grace’ the planet. There is a whole slew of diseases that can be caused by a mosquito bites, including:

* Malaria * Yellow Fever * Encephalitis * Dengue Fever

All delightful stuff I am sure you agree!

Mosquito facts

Today we are going to learn a little about what makes these things ‘tick’. My youngest girl asked me to ‘Google’ them today actually (the poor little thing is a lure for Mozzies unfortunately.) And most importantly what can you do to defend yourself from these disgusting little vampires!

Mozzie Biology

Mosquitoes are insects that have been cursing animals and more recently, humans for more than 30 million years. And it seems that, our little friends have been very busy evolving and honing their skills of finding people to bite. Mosquitoes have an impressive aray of sensors designed to track their prey, including:

Chemical sensors -

Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to an unbelievable 36 metres (100 feet) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. There are also certain chemicals in sweat that seem to attract mosquitoes (the lucky people who don’t sweat much don’t get nearly as many mosquito bites).

Visual sensors -

If you move around wearing clothing that contrasts with the background mosquitoes can see you, and and get a ‘target lock’ on you. Instinctually, anything moving is considered alive and therefore fair game to have it’s blood siphoned.

Heat sensors

Talk about overkill: Mosquitoes can also detect the heat warm-blooded mammals and birds give off very easily once they are in range.

With all these high-tech sensors these little ‘suckers’ (pun intended) sound more like something out of a Terminator movie and without protection we don’t really stand a chance.

Interestingly it is only the female mosquitoes that bite (what is is with females – I bet if we had a Father Nature instead things would be a lot different.) Not unlike human gold-diggers, the female lands on your skin and sticks her proboscis into you (the proboscis is very sharp and thin, so you may not feel it going in). Her saliva contains proteins (anticoagulants) that prevent your blood from clotting.

I bet you didn’t know this – Mosquitoes can actually explode!

Obviously if you notice her and try to squish her, she will fly away. Otherwise, she will remain until she has a full tummy – she has yet another sensor telling her when she is full and it is time to detach. I once had one land on me and when it was sucking away merrily I carefully pinched my skin tightly to her proboscis so that she couldn’t escape. While it left a nasty welt, I had a last laugh as she filled with blood and exploded

After she has bitten you, some saliva remains in the wound. The proteins from the saliva evoke an immune response from your body with the symptoms of the area swelling an being as itchy as h***. The swelling tends to subside quite quickly, but the itchiness will remain until your immune cells break down the proteins in the saliva.

HIV ‘Old Wives Tales’ Exposed

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS cannot survive inside a mosquito, and therefore thankfully cannot be transmitted from one person to another through mosquito bites.

How to Stop Getting Bitten By Mosquitoes

You can do a few things to reduce the number of mosquito bites that you get while enjoying the outdoors. First, wear clothing that covers most of your body, if temperatures permit – in saying that though I have been bitten through jeans before so nothing is fool-proof here.

Use Mosquito Repellent.

>  Natural mosquito repellant

You can go the route of using the ‘ol Japanese standby – the Katori Senko. You can find these bad boys in almost every drugstore in the land. They are green swirly incense sticks that contains some type of plant- based repellent that purports to keep mosquitoes (and any worthy suitors) at bay. While these might be effective for household use, I like to know what my kids and I are breathing and they are no help once you are outside.

When my girls and I are outside rather than spray ourselves with toxins that eventually work their way to building up in our internal organs I prefer more natural alternatives:

If you are interested in getting the best natural bug repellents, and natural supplement delivered right to your door while saving up to 70% on retail prices I urge you to run to iherb.Com and if you enter this code HAY138 you will get $5 off your first order (on top of the impressive discounts!)

>  Natural mosquito repellant

I have been ordering supplements from iherb.Com for over 5 years now from 3 different countries and I can tell you that their customer service is top notch, their prices unheard of, and shipping is quick and cheap. If you could even find these products in Japan you would likely pay well over full price, fork out money to get the train or fight traffic to get to the store. But with iherb.Com your stuff is only a few clicks and a few days away no matter where you live in Japan or the world.

P.S The best shipping option for Japan is to choose Yamato – they are the ones with the Black Cat on the side of their truck.

P.P.S Feel free to share this code HAY138 with anyone who has never ordered from iHerb before. They will save $5 on their first order as well and a truckload on anything they order from then onwards.

P.P.P.S Guys – believe me you will definitely want to know about the amazing ‘night-time’ benefits of Cordyceps that you can get from iherb too;-)

Author Haydn Stevenson provides you with Free Tips for a more stress-free, funand enriching life in Japan (including the secrets of how he creates income on 100% ‘auto-pilot’ while being a full-time solo dad.) For those starting out living in Japan or are just plain ‘curious’ http://japanfordummies.com shows you this wonderful country through the eyes of an ‘outsider’ who has bumped up against the Good, the Bad and Ugly.. and lived to tell the tale

Technorati Tags: bite, bites, facts, insects, mosquito, natural, remedies, remedy, repellant, treatment

Malaria is very common throughout the world. In the United States, the main risk is to persons traveling to tropical and subtropical countries where malaria is a problem.

There are four different types of malaria caused by four related parasites.

The most deadly type occurs in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The symptoms characteristic of malaria include fever, chills, muscle aches, and headache. Cycles of chills, fever, and sweating that recur every 1, 2 or 3 days are typical.

There can sometimes be vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing and yellowing (jaundice) of the skin and whites of the eyes.

The treatment for malaria depends upon the geographic area where a person has been infected with the disease. Different areas of the world have malaria types that are resistant to certain medications.

Malaria is a disease which can be transmitted to people of all ages. It is caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium that are spread from person to person through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves infection of the red blood cells. Of the four types of malaria, the most serious type is falciparum malaria, which can be life-threatening. The other three types of malaria (vivax, malariae, and ovale) are generally less serious and are not life-threatening. The scientific name of the particular type of mosquito is Anopheles. An infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects the malaria parasites into the blood. The malaria parasites then travel through the bloodstream to the liver and eventually infect the red blood cells.

Causes of Malaria

1. Malaria is usually caused by a mosquito bite and the parasite microbe is passed from the mosquito to the blood through a sharp hypoderme needle like sting. Risk factors include traveling in areas in which such mosquitoes are found or, rarely, being bitten by a mosquito that has previously fed on an “imported” case of malaria (such that the case can occur in an area of the world where malaria is not endemic).

2. Transmitted by transfusion of infected blood.

Symptoms of Malaria

1. Sequential chills, fever, and sweating.

2. Jaundice.

3. Stools, bloody.

4. muscle pain.

5. Anemia.

6. Headache.

7. Nausea and vomiting.

Treatment of Malaria

Prevention of malaria what is practiced in epidemic areas is by spraying insecticides like DDT. Many new drugs are available for malaria, however most of the drugs are derived from Quinine derivatives. Malaria often requires treatment with medicine (antimalarial medications). Most of the time antimalarial medications effectively treat the infection; however, some malaria parasites may survive because they are in the liver or are resistant to the medication.

By: Juliet Cohen Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Juliet Cohen writes health articles for health care clinic. She also writes articles for women health.

Malaria No More

I headed down to LA Live on Friday night for a very important night celebrating and spreading the word for the cause Malaria No More. 

The Ultimate Source of Malaria Is Found in Chimps

Health & Medicine | Researchers have determined how malaria first came to afflict humanity, and have laid the blame on our closest relative, the chimpanzee. 

Barca Promotes Fight Against Malaria

Barcelona uses its high profile to raise awareness and money for the fight against malaria in Africa.  

Technorati Tags: caused by, causes, drugs, facts, infected, malaria, malaria no more, mosquito, mosquitoes, plasmodium malariae, symptoms, treatment for, what causes

The Bald Eagle was nearly extinct in the lower 48 U.S. states by the middle of the 20th century, pushed to the brink by its sensitivity to DDT.

Dear EarthTalk: I read a disturbing report recently that the long-banned pesticide, DDT, was being used in Mozambique to combat malaria.  Malaria is a killer , but isn’t a return to DDT even scarier?
– Graeme Campbell, South Africa

Much of the developed world banned the use of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) within about 10 years of the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring.”

Carson’s book, which is credited by many as having spurred the creation of the modern environmental movement.

She documented the ecosystem damage caused by DDT crop spraying throughout the United States and linked the pesticide’s use to the disappearance of songbirds and raptors.

Enlarge Image EARTH TALK

From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Health officials at the time also linked DDT exposure to nerve damage in humans, and blamed DDT for causing cancer in people who had applied it recklessly. Today, because of widespread indiscriminate use up through the 1960s, most people have traces of DDT in their bodies. DDT has since become increasingly associated with childhood developmental problems, according to the organization, Beyond Pesticides (BP).

Today, two dozen countries–including Mozambique and nine other African nations–permit the use of small amounts of DDT for controlling specific insect-borne diseases, including malaria . Malaria kills one million people, including 800,000 African children, every year. Dr. Arata Kochi, leader of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) global malaria program, strongly advocates using DDT to fight malaria, claiming that it poses little or no health risk when sprayed in small amounts on the inner walls of people’s homes.

“Indoor residual spraying is useful to quickly reduce the number of infections caused by malaria-carrying mosquitoes…and presents no health risk when used properly,” agrees Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, WHO’s assistant director-general for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Asamoa-Baah insists that DDT’s public health benefits for mosquito bite treatment and prevention far outweigh its risks.

Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, disagrees and advocates for techniques that do not rely on pesticides like DDT. “The international community has a social responsibility to reject the use of this chemical and to practice sound and safe pest management practices,” he says. Feldman cites a recent study showing South African women living in DDT-treated dwellings to have 77 times the internationally accepted limit of the chemical in their breast milk. Researchers postulate that large amounts of DDT may have contaminated drinking water, exposing entire villages. “This highlights why no society can be unconcerned with DDT’s impact” on health and the worldwide ecosystem, Feldman says.

Feldman is calling for alternative strategies for disease control, including addressing the conditions of poverty that lead to mosquito breeding. We should “no longer treat poverty and development with poisonous band-aids, but join together to address the root causes of insect-borne disease, because the chemical-dependent alternatives are ultimately deadly for everyone,” says Feldman.

CONTACTS Beyond Pesticides, www.beyondpesticides.org; World Health Organization Malaria Information, www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/

or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com.

DDT Spray Does Uganda Need It?

“Food products originating from Uganda would have to be tested and if levels of DDT exceed the MRL, they would be denied entry into the EU,” she said. Aryada said the DDT debate should be less driven by concerns of the EU

The Debate Over DDT And Malaria Continues

The debate over using DDT to control Malaria has continued since the insecticide was banned in the USA in Dec. 1972. However, the 2006 controversial decision of WHO to actively support the use of DDT in Malaria control stirred a heated discussion

Bill Gates Demonstrates Why We Should Make DDT Legal Again In The US

I suspect much of the debate boils down to the insoluble difference between those who value human life above insects and those who do not. I realize that insects outmass humanity, outmass mammalia, and outmass vertebrates on Earth. 

The DDT Debate: To Spray Or Not To Spray?

Collins Vumiria Kakaire’s blog – It all started with a severe headache – got me thinking about malaria, about DDT, and about the potential for conflict between environmental concerns and health. Uganda is rightly worried 

Technorati Tags: agricultural, bald eagle, banned, banning, cancer, causing, concerns, ddt, ecosystem, environmental, extinct, facts, in breastmilk, malaria, pesticide, spraying, use

Mosquitoes and disease

Though mosquitoes have been associated with disease and are considered to be undesirable pests, they have several surprising and interesting things about them.

Read on to know some facts about mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are a disease causing insect species belonging to the family Culicidae.

They have a negative image and are referred to as pests. Given below are some facts about them.

Facts about Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes have existed since 100 million years. There exist 3000 different species of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are quite adept at adapting to different climates. They are found all over the world including very cold locations like the Arctic.

Only the  female mosquitoes bite. Their eggs require the protein found in human blood. A female mosquito may probe a human being’s skin as many as 20 times before drawing blood. The male mosquito is differentiated from the female one by the plumose or feather-like appearance of the antenna and palp (sensory organ). The high-pitched sound female mosquitoes make is created by their wing beats and helps the males find them..

Most mosquitoes live near 1 mile of their breeding ground, though some may live up to 20 miles away. Mosquitoes are cold-blooded creatures and are most active at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The male mosquito’s life is between 10 and 20 days long, whereas the female mosquito’s is between 3 and 100 days. A mosquito weighs 1/25000 of an ounce.

Mosquitoes are more attracted toward dark colors than light colors. Mosquitoes use smell to hunt and are particularly attracted by carbon dioxide.

Mosquitoes cause diseases like yellow fever, dengue, filariasis and encephalitis. More than 100 people can be infected by a single mosquito carrying the malaria virus. Mosquitoes kill more people than any other insect.

Most mosquito species live on fruit juices and nectar and only a very few feed on humans. Some mosquitoes feed on other mosquitoes. An interesting fact is that some mosquitoes prefer frogs.

The life stages of a mosquito are egg, pupae, larvae and adult; all of which, except the last stage, take place in water. Stagnant water like ponds and lakes is preferred by most mosquitoes to lay eggs.

A surprising fact is that the eggs of a mosquito can survive for more than five years. A female mosquito is capable of laying up to 200 eggs at one time. A mosquito develops from egg to adult within 4 to 7 days. Mosquitoes prefer places with less light like trees and areas of dense vegetation.

Mosquitoes have poor eyesight. They can identify their prey by an infrared view of its body temperature. Mosquito bites cause itching. Like many birds, mosquitoes are also pollinators.

You can take the following steps to reduce the population of mosquitoes :

• Get rid of stagnant water in your garden or drums, bottles, tin cans etc.
• Cover all water containers.
• The water bowl of your pet can be a source of mosquito breeding; so empty it on a daily basis.
• Make sure water does not accumulate in the ground around your house.
• Regularly use DDT or other pesticide to kill mosquitoes.
• You can fill your fish tank with mosquito-eating fish.
• Cut the grass and shrubs short in the garden to avoid giving mosquitoes a place to inhabit.
• Keep unused swimming pools drained or covered.
• Drain all swamps in your neighborhood.

By Prabhakar Pillai

The Enemy Of The Little Biting Beasts

This patented mosquito trap provides 24-hour protection against biting insects and that too, without any odor or noise. Check out the Mosquito Magnet 3100 MM Mosquito Trap in online retailer sites today

Mosquito Noise

The commonly called “mosquito” noise was originally designed by the Swedish government to keep people like teenagers away from public venues like supermarkets and other stores.

Mosquito Bite Causes Itching, Swelling Red Skin Bumps

Standing water and warm weather creates an ideal environment for mosquitoes. This pest’s bite causes itching, swelling red skin bumps that can drive you crazy.

Mosquitoes And Bite Prevention

Travelers need to use all of their savvy to prevent bites and stay healthy on their trip. The first line in mosquito bite prevention is clothing. Lighter colors are advised and long sleeves and pants act as a barrier to the attacking .

Cheap Off Mosquito Lantern PowerPad Kit Just A Simple Solution

The off hanging mosquito lantern also provides mosquito protection for an area up to 15 ft. x 15 ft. Each candle and pad lasts up to four hours. Refills are also available for both the off Mosquito lamp and hanging mosquito lantern. 

Technorati Tags: bite, bites, control, diseases, equipment, facts, female, infected, larvae, malaria virus, mosquito, mosquitoes, pests, products, sprayers, treatment

Pesticides containing DDT, used as a mosquito repellant and for control of other insects and pests may be having a harmful effect on health, including an increase in the potential incidence of autism.

Health and DDT Facts.

A new study suggests that pregnant women living near fields sprayed with two types of pesticides have as much as six times higher risk of children with autism.

DDT-Like Pesticides Linked to Autism, Study Suggests.

Scientists hoping to discover the root causes of autism may have found a new link to the disorder.

A study published online this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows a possible connection between two kinds of pesticides and the proximity of pregnant women living near fields where they were sprayed. The study was performed by the California Department of Public Health, and involved sampling “drift” concentrations of pesticides from agricultural fields to nearby residential areas in parts of the California Central Valley.

The researchers examined the records in 19 different California counties of over 270,000 children who were born between 1996 and 1998. Of the children studied, 465 had autism or autism-spectrum disorders (also called ASD). The records of where the children’s mothers lived during pregnancy were then compared to how close they lived to agricultural fields where many various pesticides were used.

“There seemed to be an association the closer [they] were to the fields,” said Mark Horton, a state health director at the California Department of Public Health, to reporters.

The researchers found a particularly high incidence of autism among the children of 29 women who had lived quite near (about 500 yards) from fields where two specific pesticides had been used. The class of pesticides called organochlorines, the most well-known of which is DDT, have mostly been banned in the U.S. for many years. However, two organochlorines are still in use in this country: dicofol an endosulfan. It was these two pesticides that seemed to be most strongly linked to the autism cases. Of the 29 women, eight had babies who later developed autism – a sixfold increase over the general population.

The incidence of autism was the greatest for women living nearest the fields, and decreased in relationship to the distance away from them.

And while the conclusion cannot be made definitively at this time, primarily because the group of women who had the strongest apparent pesticide-autism link was so small, many experts viewing the report feel that further study is essential.

Susan Kegley, a spokesperson from the Pesticide Action Network North America, feels that this study confirms growing evidence that dicofol and endosulfan are harmful to humans. “This is one of the first papers that link use of pesticide to incidence of a disease, and autism in particular,” Kegley told reporters at The Los Angeles Times. “The findings are very strong. This is a sixfold risk factor in comparison to someone who is not exposed. There aren’t too many studies that come out like that.”

“We’re going to be working very closely with the state department of public health,” said Glenn Brank, a representative of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, to reporters. “The implications of this study certainly are of great concern to us although you can note from the report itself there is a lot more research that needs to be done before any firm conclusions can be drawn.”

Brank added that though the study’s conclusions were alarming, the state of California has been using progressively lower amounts of dicofol and endosulfan. Newer pesticides more frequently focus on reproductive disruption rather than neurotoxic agents, lessening the harmful effects on humans.

We need to research mosquito bite prevention methods that don’t make use of harmful pesticides.

In addition, the Department of Pesticide Regulation released a recent report stating that endosulfan seems to travel further by air than previously thought, potentially exposing larger numbers of the population to it, and the agency is expected to classify it as a “toxic air contaminant,” which should further reduce its use.

For members of the community affected by autism, the study is seen as a potential addition to the array of possible causes of the disorder.

Some firmly believe that autism is caused by mercury or some other toxin contained in the MMR (Mumps Measles Rubella) vaccination; others believe environmental toxins are to blame. Some experts think that autism is caused by a genetic weakness or mutation, or a combination of genetic and environmental causes.

The study’s authors seem to concur with the latter. “The [alterations in brain function] might result from genetic factors, environmental insults, or a combination of the two,” reads the report in part.

Regardless of one’s opinion on the cause of autism, most experts agree that the preliminary study is significant and needs to be researched further.

While the link between the 29 women in the study and the pesticides is compelling, one might wonder if such a potentially toxic load might cause any number of neurological disorders in addition to autism.

There was no information available at press time as to whether the researchers studied any other ill effects suffered by people living within 500 yards of an agricultural field sprayed with hundreds of different pesticides.

Pablo Rodriguez, director of the Dolores Huerta Community Organizing Institute, told The Bakersfield Californian, “It’s important for the people of the Central Valley to advocate for continued study, more information and access to that information so we can make the best decision to sustain agriculture. We need more information to make the best possible decisions for our communities.”

By Anastacia Mott Austin

DDT-Like Pesticides Might Be Linked to Autism Types and Disorders

And while the conclusion cannot be made definitively at this time, primarily because the group of women who had the strongest apparent pesticide-autism link was so small, many experts viewing the report feel that further study isneeded

Transforming Government’s Approach to Regulating Pesticides

Action: Incorporate into all pesticide registration and reregistration protocols a requirement to evaluate sublethal effects with an impact on domesticated and wild bees and other pollinators. There are sublethal effects, not evaluated 

Pesticides harm babies

To determine the effects of pesticides here, Dr. Ostrea and his team have been conducting an ongoing study of more than 700 pregnant women (and afterward, their babies) in Malolos, Bulacan. Funded by the US NIH and the US Environmental

Bush Environmental Rollback May Be Connected To The increase in autism

California’s sevenfold increase in autism is most likely due to environmental exposures, according to scientists. A new study advocates a nationwide shift in autism research to focus on environmental factors such as pesticides.

Bee-yond pesticides

Does a bee have to die in order for a pesticide to be banned? how about if a beneficial bee is disoriented or rendered dysfunctional? these sub-lethal effects mirror conditions we see in humans such as autism and asthma.

Technorati Tags: damage, ddt, facts, info, insecticide, use

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite, Plasmodium, which infects red blood cells. Infected mosquitoes spread it.

The mosquito infects you through bites so prevention is important

Mosquito Bite treatment

People with malaria frequently experience fever, chills, and flu-like disease. Malaria is a main cause of death worldwide.

Detailed Info on Malaria

Approximately 300 million people worldwide are affected by malaria and between 1 and 1.5 million people die from it every year, but it is almost wiped out in the United States. The disease is frequently a problem in developing countries with warm climates. If you travel to these countries, you are at risk. People get malaria by being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. Only Anopheles mosquitoes can spread malaria and they must have been contaminated through an earlier blood meal taken on a contaminated being. When a mosquito bites an infected person, a little amount of blood is taken in which contains microscopic malaria parasites. About 1 week later, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, these parasites mix with the mosquito’s saliva and are injected into the person being bitten. Because the malaria parasite is found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared employ of needles or syringes contaminated with blood.

Symptoms of malaria comprise fever, headache, and vomiting. Malaria may reason anemia and jaundice (fair coloring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells. Malaria is not extending from person to person like a cold or the flu, and it cannot be sexually transmitted. You cannot get malaria from casual contact with malaria-infected people, such as sitting next to someone who has malaria. Treatment of malaria involves supportive measures as well as exact anti malarial drugs. Anti-malarial drugs can be prescribed to people traveling to areas where malaria is prevalent.

The types of anti-malarial medications prescribed will rely on the drug-resistance patterns in the areas to be visited. Chloroquine is an often used anti-malarial medication, but quinidine or quinine, or the amalgamation of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine, are given for chloroquine-resistant infections.

People on anti-malarial medications may still become infected. Prevention is better than cure. Avoid mosquito bites by wearing protective clothing over the arms and legs and using screens on windows. Use of mosquito nets and insect repellents can decrease the chance of getting infected.

By: Juliet Cohen

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com   Juliet Cohen writes articles for beauty blog. She also writes articles for new hairstyles and hairstyles blog.

Tamiflu stockpiles vary widely throughout world

“And you can confuse the symptoms with malaria, so that’s very problematic.” Garman said there is a strong correlation between a country’s antiviral stocks and its level of preparedness for dealing with a possible pandemic

Pro Health Article – Malaria Microchip

Fever, headache, and vomiting are the symptoms of malaria and they normally appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated immediately and rightly, Malaria can be life threatening. 

World Malaria Day

While there is no vaccine for malaria, there are antimalaria medications available that can reduce the risk of developing symptoms of the disease. These medications will not provide 100 per cent protection against the disease.

Technorati Tags: bite, facts, itching, malaria, mosquito, prevention, swelling, symptoms, treatment

About Mosquitoes

Lets start with an interesting fact: there are 2500 different species of pesky little mosquitoes all over the world. Out of these there are 150 species in the United States of America. Of these 150 species, 52 species are in Sunny California and 19 species are in Alameda County.

The lifecycle of this tiny little insect is quite an interesting one. The most important thing for a mosquito to breed is water…any kind of water, from clean flowing creeks to dirty sewage water. Mosquitoes can breed in form of water; in face water is so important to mosquitoes that most time a mosquito is identified by the water it comes form. The life expectancy of a mosquito depends on a lot of things, its gender, the temperature, the time of year and humidity levels as well. Generally a male mosquito will live for a week whereas a female mosquito can live up to a month.

Mosquito lifecycle

The lifecycle of a mosquito is in four distinct stages. These stages are the egg, larva, pupa and adult stage.

Each stage of the mosquito lifecycle will have a unique and distinct appearance.Here are the stages of a mosquito lifecycle:

• Eggs: the eggs of a mosquito are laid one at a time and can be found floating on the water surface. Depending on the species of the mosquito the eggs can either stuck together in the form of a raft (the culex mosquito lays 200 to 300 eggs to form a raft and the raft can be inch long) or they can be laid separately. Some species even lay the eggs on damp soil, which will be flooded later and makes ideal hatching conditions. There are some species that need to lay their eggs on fresh water surface or stagnant water surface. All eggs hatch within 48 hours of being laid, where as some tiny species of mosquito eggs will hatch within 24 hours.

• Larva: when the eggs are hatched they are called larva or larvae for plural. The common term for mosquito larvae is wigglers or wrigglers. These larvae must live under the surface of the water for a week or two depending on the water temperature, and only come up for air and to breathe, typically a larva will have siphon tubes that allow them to breathe from under the surface of the water. The larva will typically molt 4 times and each time will grow larger, and this is because they are continuously feeding of microorganisms in the water or the organic matter found in the water. The forth molt will then change into a pupa.

• Pupa: this stage is the resting stage and is called the pupal stage. The mosquito pupa is also called tumblers (because if it is disturbed it will dive in a tumbling motion and then surface) and they live in water for 4 days depending on the species. During this stage the pupa will be inactive or resting and does not eat at all. During this time the pupa breathes through breathing tubes called trumpets. This is the time during which the pupa is turning into an adult mosquito. Normally an adult mosquito takes about 48 hours to be fully formed from its pupa stage. When this time period is over and the mosquito is fully developed, the skin of the pupa will tear or split and the mosquito emerges fully developed.

• Adult: as the pupa splits and the adult emerges, the first thing it will do is rest on the water surface, this is so that is dries up and can let its parts harden. It also needs to let the wings spread out and dry up before it can start flying.

By Khushnuma Irani

More about mosquitoes here

MMmmm…That’s Good Grub  Drawing The Motmot

In order to implant an egg into the skin of a warm blooded animal primate (human or otherwise) and get its life cycle going it captures a mosquito on the wing, onto which it lays an egg and then releases.

The Mosquito Life Cycle

The mosquito life cycle can only begin in an aquatic environment. The female mosquito lays between 50 and 100 eggs on the water’s surface, and so it begins. Both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar

Long Legged Mosquitoes

Do you know everything about mosquitoes? Everyone knows that mosquitoes suck blood and spread dengue fever. But why do they suck blood? What kind of diseases do they also spread? What is the mosquitoes’life cycle?

Technorati Tags: about, facts, habitat, life cycle, mosquito, mosquitoes, types

Mosquitoes are a disease causing insect species belonging to the family Culicidae. They have a negative image and are referred to as pests. Given below are some facts about them.

Facts about Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes have existed since 100 million years. There exist 3000 different species of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are quite adept at adapting to different climates. They are found all over the world including very cold locations like the Arctic.

Only the female mosquitoes bite. Their eggs require the protein found in human blood. A female mosquito may probe a human being’s skin as many as 20 times before drawing blood. The male mosquito is differentiated from the female one by the plumose or feather-like appearance of the antenna and palp (sensory organ). The high-pitched sound female mosquitoes make is created by their wing beats and helps the males find them..

Most mosquitoes live near 1 mile of their breeding ground, though some may live up to 20 miles away. Mosquitoes are cold-blooded creatures and are most active at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The male mosquito’s life is between 10 and 20 days long, whereas the female mosquito’s is between 3 and 100 days. A mosquito weighs 1/25000 of an ounce.

Mosquitoes are more attracted toward dark colors than light colors. Mosquitoes use smell to hunt and are particularly attracted by carbon dioxide.

Mosquitoes cause diseases like yellow fever, dengue, filariasis and encephalitis. More than 100 people can be infected by a single mosquito carrying the malaria virus. Mosquitoes kill more people than any other insect.

Most mosquito species live on fruit juices and nectar and only a very few feed on humans. Some mosquitoes feed on other mosquitoes. An interesting fact is that some mosquitoes prefer frogs.

The life stages of a mosquito are egg, pupae, larvae and adult; all of which, except the last stage, take place in water. Stagnant water like ponds and lakes is preferred by most mosquitoes to lay eggs. A surprising fact is that the eggs of a mosquito can survive for more than five years. A female mosquito is capable of laying up to 200 eggs at one time. A mosquito develops from egg to adult within 4 to 7 days. Mosquitoes prefer places with less light like trees and areas of dense vegetation.

Mosquitoes have poor eyesight. They can identify their prey by an infrared view of its body temperature. Mosquito bites cause itching. Like many birds, mosquitoes are also pollinators.

You can take the following steps to reduce the population of mosquitoes:

• Get rid of stagnant water in your garden or drums, bottles, tin cans etc.
• Cover all water containers.
• The water bowl of your pet can be a source of mosquito breeding; so empty it on a daily basis.
• Make sure water does not accumulate in the ground around your house.
• Regularly use DDT or other pesticide to kill mosquitoes.
• You can fill your fish tank with mosquito-eating fish.
• Cut the grass and shrubs short in the garden to avoid giving mosquitoes a place to inhabit.
• Keep unused swimming pools drained or covered.
• Drain all swamps in your neighborhood

  

More interesting facts on mosquitoes you may want to check out!

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