There are over 150 different species of Mosquitoes just here in Florida! How many species of mosquitoes do you think there are in the entire world?
Mosquito Facts:
- “There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes. About 175 of them are found in the United States, with the Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Culex pipiens,Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) among the most common. The Anopheles is a malaria carrier, and the other three are known to spread various forms of encephalitis.
- West Virginia has the fewest species of mosquitoes. There are 26 in the mountainous state, while Texas has the most with 85. Florida is a close second with 80 identified species.
- Mosquito is Spanish for “little fly.” The word reportedly originated in the early 16th century. In Africa, New Zealand and Australia, mosquitoes are often called “Mozzies”
- Mosquitoes don’t have teeth. The females “bite” with a long, pointed mouthpart called a proboscis. They use the serrated proboscis to pierce the skin and locate a capillary, then draw blood through one of two tubes.
- A mosquito can drink up to three times its weight in blood. Don’t worry, though. It would take about 1.2 million bites to drain all the blood from your body.
- Female mosquitoes can lay up to 300 eggs at a time. Usually, the eggs are deposited in clusters – called rafts – on the surface of stagnant water, or they are laid in areas that flood regularly. Eggs can hatch in as little as an inch of standing water. Females will lay eggs up to three times before they die.
- Mosquitoes spend their first 10 days in water. Water is necessary for the eggs to hatch into larvae, called wigglers. Wigglers feed on organic matter in stagnant water and breathe oxygen from the surface. They develop into pupae, which do not feed and are partially encased in cocoons. Over several days, the pupae change into adult mosquitoes.” https://www.megacatch.com/mosquito-faqs/mosquito-species.html
The best way to keep those pests away from your home, yard and family is to make certain there are no containers around your yard with standing water. Make certain if you are going to open your windows when the weather is warm, that you close your toilet seat covers, we have found mosquitoes that love to grown their families in those little used guest bathrooms!. If you are doing all of these things already and you are still being pestered by these pesky pests with more than two legs, call us, we can get rid of them for you!!
Joel Stout
Sandpiper Pest Control
