Have you ever wondered about the life cycle of a mosquito? These biting bugs actually have a life cycle that takes place in four stages: egg, larvae, pupae, and adult mosquitoes. Read on to learn more about a mosquito’s life cycle.
The Mosquito Life Cycle
Once their job is done, male mosquitoes live three to five days. No need to worry about the males though, it is the females that bite! The females tend to mate only once, but live considerably longer, depending on how much warmth and moisture is in their environment. Under ideal conditions, they may live as long as a month or two.
They Start as Eggs
The reason female mosquitos live longer than male ones is because once the male has bred with a female mosquito, he will die within three to five days. However, since the female lives are longer, she can lay about 100 to 300 eggs at a time during her lifespan. Her favorite place to lay these clumps of eggs is in standing water since the eggs can not hatch until they have been submerged in water for about two to three days.
Larvae
Upon hatching, the egg reaches the larvae stage. At this point, mosquitos are called “wrigglers” because they wriggle around in the standing water where they get the needed nutrients for survival. This is the easiest stage to kill mosquitos as they are at their most vulnerable.
Pupae
Also known as “tumblers”, pupae now submerge themselves to the bottom of the water. At this point, the pupae do not feed but they are still in a stage of development. From here, it takes about four days for the mosquito to emerge.
Adult
At this point, the mosquito will climb out of the stagnant water and wait until they are completely dried off. The males take a couple of days to develop their reproductive organs and then they take flight, with the sole aim of creating more mosquitos and pollinating. The female will mate once with a chosen male but then continues to lay eggs during her life cycle which can last up to two months.
How Do Mosquitos Survive the Winter?
Mosquitos bite us all summer long, but what happens to mosquitos in the winter? Once winter comes, mosquitos hibernate. They look for small holes where they can hide until warmer weather comes around again. Female mosquitos will even lay their eggs in frozen water and once the water becomes warm enough, the eggs will hatch and repeat the four-stage cycle.
The best way to get rid of mosquitoes from your backyard is with a mosquito misting system that is FDA approved and safe for kids and animals. The mister will kill the mosquitos in about an hour.
Give MosquitoNix Austin a call. We offer mistings systems and flexible, budget-friendly QuickNix treatment programs for all of y0ur mosquito control needs. Take your backyard back by filling out a FREE quote form today!
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