Biogents – Science for Your Protection –

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are very diverse with around 3,500 different mosquito species worldwide and about 100 in Europe and 170 in North America.

Within the eco system, mosquitoes are a part of the food source for animals such as fishes, frogs, birds, or bats.
But for humans and many other animals they are one of the deadliest animals in the world. Their ability to carry and spread diseases to humans causes more than 400.000 deaths every year.

Reason: though both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar and plant juices to get their energy, in many species the females additionally need nutrients from a blood meal for egg production. By feeding on blood from different hosts, the mosquitoes become vectors of parasites and infectious pathogens between humans, or from animals to humans. Vector-borne diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, West nile fever or Zika which are mostly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions.

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes
Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes >

There is a great variety of mosquito behaviour regarding blood hosts: Some mosquito species have specialized in specific hosts, whereas others bite anything they encounter. One thing all mosquitoes have in common is that they spend their immature stages in the water.

life cycle of mosquitoes
Life cycle of mosquitoes >

Different species may have completely distinct ways of life. Certain species appear in relatively low densities, while others merge in masses such as floods water mosquitoes. There are also differences with respect to diet: Some species have specialized in specific hosts, and others bite anything they encounter. These different forms of behavior have an important influence on the role that mosquitoes play as disease vectors.

Learn more about the different species: