Mosquitos

Today's post is all about mosquitoes. Specifically what they are and their life cycle and tomorrow's post will cover disease and control.

Mosquitoes are a family of small, midge-like flies that are called Culicidae. Most species of mosquitoes are harmless and even considered useful to humanity. Some species are nuisances because they will feed on blood from living vertabrates, including humans.

A major problem with mosquitoes is that when they feed on the blood of humans and livestock they can transmit some of the most harmful diseases, which is something you can read more about tomorrow.

There are over 3.500 species of mosquitoes found worldwide, except for Antarctica.In warmer temperatures (tropical regions for example), mosquitoes are active year round. In colder temperatures, they will hibernate over the winter months.

Mosquitoes, like all flies go through four stages in their life cycle: egg, larvae, pupa and adult. In most species, the female adult will lay their eggs in standing water. Some species will lay their eggs near the water's edge and other species attach their eggs to aquatic plants.

The first three stages of a mosquitoes life cycle are mainly aquatic and these stages generally take anywhere from 5-14 days depending on the species and the ambient temperature.

Mosquitoes that live in some regions where there is cold temperatures and lack of water, can spend part of the year in dispause, meaning they can delay their development and continue on with their life cycle only when conditions are ideal for them to continue.

The eggs hatch into larvae, which then grow until they are able to change in pupae. Following the pupae stage, the adult mosquitoes will emerge from the mature pupa as it floats on the surface of the water.

Mosquitoes that feed on blood, have the potential life spans of a week to several months.

If you are having a pest problem, remember it is better to deal with is sooner rather than later as it can quickly become a very expensive problem to deal with. To book an appointment with Cottage Country Pest Control, give us a call at 705-534-7863 or email us today.