{"id":16317,"date":"2025-06-25T14:55:46","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T19:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?p=16317"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:58:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T19:58:44","slug":"the-mighty-mosquito-rerun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/the-mighty-mosquito-rerun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mighty Mosquito rerun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Howdy, BugFans,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2025<\/strong> \u2013 almost two decades ago, when the BugLady was working on a phenology project in the Bog, she encountered multitudes of mosquitoes and she made a deal with them \u2013 she wouldn\u2019t bite them if they wouldn\u2019t bite her. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn\u2019t, and sometimes she is in the presence of someone who is far more tender and juicy than she is. She\u2019s leading a field trip at the Bog soon, and she\u2019ll find out if everyone remembers the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mosquitoes have been discussed in a number of BOTWs \u2013 Bug o\u2019the Week \u2013 Floodwater Mosquito \u2013an homage \u2013 Riveredge Nature Center<\/a> and Psorophora Ciliata aka The Shaggy-Legged Gallinipper \u2013 Field Station<\/a> – this is the first (with a few new words and pictures).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember – bug zappers don\u2019t kill mosquitoes. The New York Times Wirecutter<\/em> section says, \u201cBug zappers kill bugs by the thousands. But there\u2019s a problem: They kill the wrong bugs. They are ineffective against mosquitoes and other biting flies, and their otherwise indiscriminate killing can disrupt pollination and generally throw the environment out of balance. Plus, the force of their electrocution can spew a mist of disease-ridden bug parts out into the air<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mosquito<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2014 – <\/strong>Who hasn\u2019t seen the postcard (and keychain and license plate holder and t-shirt and coffee mug) that trumpets the mosquito as our state bird? It\u2019s the insect we all love to hate (they are the very definition of the word \u201cswarm\u201d), but behind the legend lies a fascinating animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there are a lot of them \u2013 about 3,500 species worldwide, 175 in North America, and 50 in Wisconsin. Mosquitoes (mosquito<\/em> is Spanish for \u201csmall fly.<\/em>\u201d) are in the Order Diptera (\u201ctwo wings<\/em>\u201d) and they are in the family Culicidae. Some people think they\u2019re kind of pretty (including the BugLady, when she\u2019s not inhaling them). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mosquito


<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yes, they grow up fast. Eggs are laid on the surface of the water, on floating leaves, or in a spot just above the water line that will subsequently flood. They generally hatch in a few days, and it takes about month to morph from egg through larva (called a \u201cwiggler\u201d\/\u201dwriggler\u201d) (because twitching is their mode of locomotion) through pupa (\u201ctumbler\u201d) (because their mode of locomotion is tumbling) to adult, but in some species, development is telescoped into 10 days. Mosquitoes don\u2019t live very long \u2013 males for about a week and females for two or three. Depending on species and location, there can be several generations per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some species of mosquito overwinter as fertilized females in sheltered spots (or in basements, which explains why the BugLady sees the odd mosquito flying around her house in January), and they\u2019re raring to go when spring comes. Other species may overwinter in a state of delayed development called diapause<\/em> in any of the above stages, resuming growth when the water warms in spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Male<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mosquito<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yes, they are adaptable. Eggs develop in wetlands but also in birdbaths, puddles, pails, flower pots, old tires, and the dog\u2019s outside water dish (if you put water in it, they will come). The first line of defense in knocking down residential mosquito populations is getting rid of these man-made sources of standing water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yes, they do bite. Females mate only once, but they may lay several \u201cclutches\u201d of eggs. Males, newly emerged females, and non-egg-laying females feed on nectar and other plant juices, but before each cluster of eggs that she lays, a female must ingest a (high-protein) blood meal (in some species, the blood-letting starts with the second<\/em> batch of eggs). Some mosquitoes include humans on their list of possible donors; others restrict themselves to birds, reptiles, amphibians, or non-human mammals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Female<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She injects, with her saliva, small doses of anticoagulant and anesthetic to aid the process (the resulting red, itchy bump is caused by your body\u2019s histamine reaction to the injected proteins). Then she ingests so much blood that taking off seems impossible. A mosquito\u2019s abdomen has expandable tissue between each segment and also between the harder upper and lower surfaces of each segment, so it stretches both vertically and horizontally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mosquito<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The BugLady once found a decent-sized snapping turtle digging a hole to lay her eggs in at dusk and, of course, got as close as she could to get some pictures without disturbing the process. She was AGHAST when she put the pictures up on the monitor and saw that the soft (but still armored) parts of the poor turtle were covered by tiny mosquitoes, and that they were even on her shell. And that the grass around the turtle\u2019s head was littered with mosquitoes that were too bloated to fly! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snapping<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most mosquito wigglers eat the algae, bacteria, debris, and zooplankton that\u2019s floating around in the water with them. Some species are predators, and a few even eat the larvae of other mosquitoes. Wigglers are important food chain \u201cmiddlemen\u201d between the tiny organisms they feed on and the fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and the other aquatic insects that prey on them. Adult mosquitoes are an essential food for bats, birds, dragonflies and damselflies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes – Female mosquitoes of some<\/em> species are notorious transmitters of diseases caused by various viruses, protozoans, and nematode worms (the warmer winters we\u2019re having due to Global Climate Change are allowing some tropical diseases like dengue fever to move north again as the mosquitoes that carry them extend their range). These causative agents generally set up shop in the mosquitoes\u2019 salivary glands, which ensures a free ride into the blood donor\u2019s body (Remember to give your dog it\u2019s heartworm medication). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More fun facts about mosquitoes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n