Have you ever wondered when a mosquito bit you if it has teeth? You may wish to view the picture located at the below link, it may give you a whole new perspective about those little flying creatures that bite:
Mosquitoes have four knife-like tools of serrated teeth that surround a pair of fine tubes - one for dripping a pain suppressor and one for sucking blood. A common house mosquito (Culex sp.) stabs the skin with her sharp snout and saws in with her four knife tools to draw blood. She shoots in saliva laced with anesthetic (to escape notice) and an anticoagulant (to keep blood flowing). Then she sucks blood.
Ref. https://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/apr...tos-stars_x.htm
It is my firm belief that I could have done without this article. I never knew that mosquitoes saliva had both anesthetic and an anticoagulant in it. I also didn't realize that it sucked blood to nourish one hundred eggs. So every bit I have is another hundred of these buggers to bit me two or three times!
QUOTE |
A common house mosquito (Culex sp.) stabs the skin with her sharp snout and saws in with her four knife tools to draw blood. She shoots in saliva laced with anesthetic (to escape notice) and an anticoagulant (to keep blood flowing). Then she sucks blood. |
Hmmm, when the anaesthetic has worn off, it feels like the mosquito had 100 teeth
I am suffering badly at the moment with 5 huge mosquito bites, unfortunately I have found out that my body is allergic to them, as my whole leg has swollen up, and a rash is rapidly taking over my leg. Looking at it from the Mosquito's point of view though, I have kindly donated my blood to help 500 new mosquitos be born woopy doo, now why doesn't that make me feel a whole lot better? *laughs*
Name: Nunya
Comments: I mainly came on here to learn about mosquitoes for my homework, but this stuff is interesting! I never thought mosquitoes had real teeth. I just thought they had that tube that got to the blood. But what do I know?
What I have found out to be amazing is that one a mosquito has bitten you they can not withdraw their snout if you hold your breath. I do not know the reason for this but it is a interesting experience. I tend to kill the mosquito before it has withdrawn too much blood. It is those time when it has its fill it seems they have to run down the arm to get a running start just to get back airborne.
We try not to use the 'M' word too much in my part of Canada, the little buggers are actually a season up here. They were tolerable before they started carrying West Nile Disease, now we try not get bitten too much.
This topic made me laugh a bit, as when I was much younger we started spreading the rumour of the 'Winter Mosquito' when we traveled in the states. Some people actually believed that we had Mosquitoes that had a very fine layer of fur over their bodies that protected them from temperatures as low as -20ºC. Oh, those bygone days! I always wanted to actually make a very believable video documentary on the Winter Mosquito, it would be a laugh.
On a serious note, Mosquitos are a serious and fine display of evolution and they are highly adaptable. You have to think that as their life spans are so short they can develop mutations very quickly. There resilience to pesticides is incredible, and their eggs can survive in dry ground for like forever, they are like sea monkeys! They have had some success in introducing a type of minnow into areas where the larvae are common, the little guys thrive on them and greatly control the population without the need of harmful toxins.
You mean the mosquito is not Canadas national bird. I have heard they are big enough up there to carry off small children. I can almost believe the winter mosquito as they seem to be there almost year round. You have to do something about all that water.