Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Mosquito

One of the most deadly creatures known to man - the mosquito. Think malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis etc. - deadly diseases that have killed millions, maybe even billions since the dawn of time.

Here is the life cycle of that nasty creature.

First, the egg. Different types of mosquitoes have very different habits as to where they lay their eggs.


The egg hatches into a larva. This is the little creature you see swimming around in that bucket of water you have outside your house in the summer. Notice the little siphon through which the larva obtains oxygen at the surface of the water.

The larva eventually molt into pupae. This stage only lasts a couple of days dependent on the temperature. Inside the pupa the adult form is developing.

Lastly, we have the blood sucking murderer itself - the adult form. Only females feed on blood. They need the blood for egg development.



For everything you ever wanted to know about malaria (and more) this appears to be a pretty valid website.

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