Insectipedia - Mosquitoes

MOSQUITOES (FAMILY CULICIDAE)

Mosquitoes can be considered as midge-like flies with extended narrow wings and scales along their veins and wing margins. The mouthparts take the shape of a long proboscis and the antenna, in the case of males, are generally plumose. The larvae are aquatic and called wrigglers, and are often seen surfacing to breathe through a syphon. They inhabit themselves in still water. The pupae are also active and aquatic. The adult females of the majority of all the species feed on blood, and the males never do the same.

Many mosquitoes are fatal disease carriers, acting as vectors for malaria (spread by the anopheles species), dengue fever (spread by aedes aegypti), Zika virus (spread by different aedes species), and other parasites and viruses. The majority of species are tropical.

Some Common Types of Mosquitoes:

Anopheles

The name anopheles is coined from Greek, with “an” meaning “not” and “ophelos” meaning “profit”, which translates to “useless”. The female anopheles is the only type of mosquito that transmits malaria and primarily bites between 9 am and 5 pm.

While we have recognized about 460 species; 100 can spread human malaria, and 30-40 generally spread parasites of the genus plasmodium, which cause human malaria in endemic regions. Anopheles mosquitoes kill about 4,40,000 people each year by infecting them with malaria.

Certain species of anopheles can also act as vectors for parasites/bacteria that cause canine heartworm, filariasis, O’ nyong’nyong fever, and diseases that can lead to brain tumours.

Aedes

The aedes mosquito is majorly found in tropical and subtropical zones. You can identify them easily as they have noticeable black and white markings on their body and legs. Unlike in the case of other mosquitoes, these are active and bite only during the daytime.

These mosquitoes are most active early in the morning and in the evening before dusk.

The two most noticeable species that spread viruses are the aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus. They transmit viruses that cause Zika fever, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, Chikungunya, and eastern equine encephalitis, amongst many others.

Culex

Culex is a genus of mosquitoes, of which several species act as vectors of more than one important disease. The diseases they spread include arbovirus infections, filariasis, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, St Louis encephalitis, and avian malaria. They are everywhere, except for the deepest northern parts of the temperate zone.