Itchy bites of a mosquito can ruin your backyard picnic or hike in the mountains.Only a few animals get antipathy that mosquitoes are subjected to. Mosquitoes are infamous for their blood-sucking tendencies.Almost everyone has had unpleasant experiences with mosquitoes. The bite of a mosquito can irritate our skin, which is an allergic reason to the saliva of the mosquito, the cause of red bumps and itching on your skin. Mosquitoes can transmit serious diseases and viruses such as malaria, dengue, and Zika virus, which can have deadly effects on humans and other animals. There are more than 200 species of mosquitoes in the US that prefer to live in specific habitats and have unique behaviors. All mosquito species share the same common trait of going through four stages of egg, larvae, pupa, and adult, and mosquitoes prefer stagnant water to lay down their eggs.After reading about the implications of a mosquito bite, check out why do mosquitoes suck blood and when do mosquitoes go away?How long do mosquitoes live indoors?We have always had these uninvited visitors in our house who bring nothing but a nuisance for us. But the question is, how long do mosquitoes live once these insects are inside our homes?Mosquitoes can survive inside our homes for weeks; this time can range from four days to months. A male mosquito can survive for 6-9 days without an issue, but they are not the main issue as they are not the ones who give us those mosquito bites; female mosquitoes are responsible for this. After female mosquitoes are done sucking your blood, these insects can live for about three weeks inside your home without your knowledge about their whereabouts. The difference between male and female adult mosquitoes is pretty easy to spot, males are usually attracted to females, and female mosquitoes are after your blood. You will spot more mosquitoes in your home if you are living near the areas of swamps or forests, and suburbs. It’s hard to find these pests in cold areas. How long do mosquitoes live inside your household depends on how they are taken care of inside your home.How long do mosquitoes live after they bite you?The life cycle of a mosquito in a room is generally very short. It seems like these blood-sucking pests will bite as many people as possible.Unlike a honey bee, who dies immediately after stinging someone, mosquitoes do not die immediately after biting anyone. They still fly around to suck blood and transmit diseases, such as malaria for about three weeks after their first bite. The whole process of biting someone for their blood would not kill a female mosquito; she will bite as many people as possible to lay her eggs. If she does not suck blood, she will not be able to lay eggs. The female mosquito lasts up to 100 days and females will lay between 200-300 eggs during their life cycle.If a mosquito is not killed by any human actions, it will die naturally during the winters when the temperatures drop below 50 F (10 C).How long does a mosquito live without blood?An adult mosquito spends its entire lifespan without the need to feed on blood. This is because the anatomy of male mosquitoes is not suited for sucking blood.However, a mosquito life cycle completely changes when we talk about females. If the female mosquito has fed on blood recently, she can go 3-4 days without the need to feed again. Like male mosquitoes, female mosquitoes can feed on nectar and plant juices as well. Females feed on blood for not only their survival but gathering enough nutrients to lay eggs. If the female mosquito can find sources to feed on other than blood, she can stay without sucking blood her entire lifespan. The mosquito lifespan is not that long. The blood meal is only necessary when she does not have any other reliable source nearby for her mosquito eggs. Mosquitoes prefer warm and humid climates for their blood meal adventure and breeding purposes. The warm season allows the hatching of mosquito eggs to happen at a much faster rate than usual.The Lifecycle Of The MosquitoMale mosquitoes are one of those insects which can quickly adapt to any environment; from the bedroom to swamps, you can find mosquitoes everywhere.All mosquitoes go through the same four stages of metamorphosis, egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. In the first stage, the female mosquito lays her eggs directly on the surface of still or stagnant water. A female mosquito at this stage can lay up to 100 eggs at one given time; the eggs laid by her stick to the water like glue and can survive up to eight months, even over the winters. In the second stage, larvae hatch from eggs, but this only happens when water levels of the plant pot, container, or swamp have risen to a level where they can cover the eggs. Mosquito larvae at this stage only have one goal, to feed on food. The larvae will feed on microorganisms that are present on the water’s surface. After the larvae are done feeding on food, they will proceed to the next stage of the pupa. In this third stage, the pupa will continue to develop until the body of a mosquito that can fly has been completely formed inside the pupa. After the emergence of mosquitoes, which is the final stage, they will go on to suck on blood and feed on nectar. After the whole feeding process, female mosquitoes seem to look after the water sources in order to lay more eggs.The Lifespan Of Different Species Of MosquitoesMultiple factors could affect the lifespan of mosquitoes, the environmental conditions they have grown in and the food sources they have access to determine how they develop.There are multiple species of mosquitoes in the wild such as the Asian tiger mosquito and yellow fever mosquito; Asian tiger mosquitoes need very little water to complete their life cycle. Even small containers of plants can generate hundreds of larvae. It takes 7-10 days for the Asian tiger mosquito to develop from an egg to an adult. Females of this species can lay up to 500 eggs in their entire lifespan, and the average life expectancy of this species is three weeks. The individuals of this species do not fly that high and are usually below 500 ft (152 m). Yellow fever female mosquitoes lay eggs three days after feeding on blood in a container that is just above the waterline. Eggs are laid by the female over a few days, and they are resistant to the process of drying. These eggs can survive for more than six months in the wild. When the container is filled with water again, the eggs hatch into larvae, and the entire life cycle can take place within 6-7 days. The adults of yellow fever mosquitoes can survive for three or more weeks. To keep yourself from bites of these deadly mosquito species, it is important for you to apply mosquito repellents such as DEET, oil of lemon, and picaridin. Mosquito control such as these repellents may seem to you as extra or unnecessary in the beginning, but these can be the deciding factor of being dead from the diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes.Do mosquitoes die when they bite?There is no reason for mosquitoes to die after biting you. In fact, they go on to live, and their craving for blood meals increases. These blood meals are essential for female mosquitoes as, without them, they would not be able to lay hundreds of mosquito eggs. If they are continuously biting you, it means that their breeding ground is nearby, and it is time for you to call for local mosquito control to save yourself and your family from getting deadly diseases. The adult mosquito life cycle is short, but it still needs to be taken care of.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how long do mosquitoes live? Then why not take a look at when do mosquitoes come out, or mosquito facts?
Itchy bites of a mosquito can ruin your backyard picnic or hike in the mountains.
