College Green Magazine – Eco-news From The Ground Up

Adult female Aedes triseriatus.
Photo courtesy of Leonard E. Munstermann, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Yale School of Public Health and Curator of Entomology at Yale Peabody Museum

By Rebecca Mathews, CG Science

With spring well under way and summer on the horizon mosquitoes have begun to make their appearance.  These particular insects have been known from as far back as the Triassic Period – 400 million years ago. They are known to have been present in North America from 100 million years ago.

The Spanish refer to the mosquitoes as “musketas”, whereas Native Hispanics call them “zancundos”. “Mosquito” is a Spanish and Portuguese word meaning “little fly, and “zancudos,” is Spanish word, means “long-legged.

Like all insects, mosquitoes come equipped with a simple body structure of three main parts; a head, thorax, and abdomen.   The head is a very complex part of the organism.  The head is where all of the sensors are located.  A mosquito has chemical, visual, and heat sensors.  There are antennas located on the head which sense chemicals.  The head is also where the biting apparatus is located along with two complex eyes.  The mouth parts on the head are the palpus and the proboscis.  The female mosquito only has the proboscis for biting. The two wings and six legs attach to the thorax of the mosquito. The abdomen is where the digestive and the excretory organs are located.

Mosquitoes can disrupt outdoor activities and interfere with the production of livestock, causing loss of weight and a decrease in milk production.  Mosquitoes cause more hardship in humans than any other organism annually. Carrying diseases such as Malaria, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, and more these insects are a large threat.  The diseases that these sometimes pesky insects carry are the cause of one million deaths annually.

Check out Mild Winter Won’t Create Greater Summer Mosquito Problems

Fast Facts:

• Dark clothing attracts mosquitoes
• Blondes are typically more attractive to mosquitoes than brunettes
• Because of the difference in hormones, women are usually more attractive to mosquitoes than men
• 176/ 2700 total breeds of mosquitoes live in the United States

Sources:

How Mosquitoes Work

Mosquito Info