Mosquitoes are insects that are hated around the world. These annoying vectors of disease live by sucking blood from everything that moves, including us. But it does not hurt to find out some facts related to insects. This is very interesting, such information will not leave you indifferent.
These insects are the cause of many deaths.
That's right, most of the deaths are due to mosquitoes than to any other animals on the planet. They are capable of carrying a huge amount of a variety of deadly diseases, including malaria, fever, encephalitis. They can also “present” a heartworm, which, for example, will be fatal for a dog.
Only mosquitoes bite people and animals to drink blood, and mosquitoes eat nectar
These insects suck out your blood, one might say, completely without intent. Just mosquitoes need protein for the reproduction of eggs, and they must consume blood in order to reproduce. Since this product is useless for males, they calmly fly around you and eat delicious nectar. When females do not need to “produce” offspring, they are also glad to enjoy only nectar.
Some mosquitoes do not touch people, preferring amphibians or birds
Not all insects feed on human blood. There are species that prefer the blood of animals, but they do not care about us. For example, Culiseta melanura (burning mosquitoes) bites exclusively birds, while Uranotaenia sapphirina prefer to enjoy amphibians and reptiles.
Mosquitoes fly at a speed of 1.6 to 2.4 km / h
Although the data seem impressive, mosquitoes fly quite slowly when compared to other insects. If competitions were held, then any opponent would leave the mosquito far behind him. For example, butterflies, locusts and honey bees would have walked around it with ease.
Mosquito flaps its wings 300-600 times per second
This is an impressive figure. She explains the annoying buzzing sound you hear before the mosquito lands on you and bites you.
Mosquitoes flap their wings synchronously when they want to attract the attention of a female!
Scientists once believed that only male mosquitoes can hear the “beating” of the wings of their potential “brides”. But the results of recent studies have shown that mosquitoes also listen to their "lovers." And when the couple meets, so to speak, converges, then their buzz becomes synchronous too.
Caterpillar mosquitoes can fly 160 km or more from their home
Basically, all mosquitoes do not fly far from their "home", staying either near a marshland, or in dense forests. But some species, such as huge centipede mosquitoes, travel long distances to find a suitable place to live.
All mosquitoes require stagnant water for breeding.
Just a few centimeters of water is all the mosquito needs to lay eggs. The tiny mosquito larva quickly develops in bird baths, roof gutters and old tires left in empty areas. If you want insects to be controlled around your home, you need to be careful to eliminate standing water once every few days.
Mosquito lives on average 5-6 months
Of course, very few insects survive to this age, given the fact that we slap them at every opportunity. But under suitable conditions, mosquitoes live for a long time, which is common to all pests.
Mosquitoes detect carbon dioxide at a distance of 75 steps
The carbon dioxide produced by humans and many animals is a key signal for mosquitoes that potential food is just around the corner. They have developed incredible sensitivity to this compound in the air. As soon as the female learns carbon dioxide, she will immediately rush to her prey, not for a second flying away from the train.
Only female mosquitoes bite and drink blood, it seems, that’s all. But what do mosquitoes males do at this time and what do they look like? For many, this remains a mystery. I will try to open the veil of secrecy over this issue.
This entry is from the Yaran Sketches cycle. Photos were taken at a master class on macro photography at the end of May 2013 near Yaransk.
It is unlikely that in our country you can find a person in whose life there was no moment when he cursed and wished for the disappearance of the entire mosquito family. Summer evening, especially near stagnant water, mosquito clouds can be very annoying. Flocking whole hordes, they are ready to risk their lives to pump blood. Dying in the hundreds, they return in the thousands.
What only females bite in mosquitoes, we found out how to distinguish them from males? Male mosquitoes also have a proboscis, but it does not contain a pricking apparatus that can pierce human skin. The main difference between a male mosquito and a female mosquito is a magnificent magnificent mustache. Unlike the thin “twigs” of the female, the male’s mustache resembles the soft feathers of feathers in birds. This can be seen in the photo above and below.
Mosquitoes accumulate the main energy reserves during the larval stage, while they live under water. In order to maintain their existence, adult males and females of most mosquitoes need flower nectar. Mosquitoes synthesize glycogen from its carbohydrates, which stores energy and is actively consumed during flight. It happens in special authoritycalled the fat body. How a mosquito drinks nectar from a flower, you can see in the photos below.
In addition to carbohydrates, females require proteins, iron and lipids, which are most easily obtained from the blood of mammals and birds. All this is required for an important process: females must lay their eggs, take care of the continuation of the mosquito. A mosquito usually drinks blood for no more than 3 minutes, while drinking only 2-4 microliters of blood (microliter is a millionth of a liter).
Having drunk blood, the female hides in some secluded place, where this portion of blood is digested for several days. At the same time, eggs mature in her body. The duration of this process depends on the ambient temperature. A couple of days is enough in the heat, and in cool weather, ripening can take a week and a half. After the female searches for a reservoir where it will lay from one to several hundred eggs. Under favorable conditions, if luck smiles on the mosquito, and she can again drink blood, this process can be repeated up to four times during a short mosquito life.
It remains to deal with the last question: why places mosquito bites itch so? The mosquito saliva, which they inject immediately after the bite, contains painkillers that make it possible not to feel the proboscis stuck in the body for some time. But immediately at the time of the injection, the pain is felt well. To combat this, mosquitoes use carbon dioxide, which stuns pain receptors for a split second and prevents blood from clotting, until anesthetic and anticoagulant saliva are introduced. Symbiotic microorganisms, the yeast living in the mosquito's esophagus, help to produce this gas. Together with mosquito saliva and carbon dioxide, the yeast itself also gets into the wound. They cause an allergic reaction - itching and swelling at the site of the bite. This is because the immune system the human body I have long been accustomed to fighting foreign yeast in the intestines that get there with food. Do not think that this is due solely to dough and bread. Yeast is quite common in nature, living on the peel of fruits, leaves, and many other places, almost everywhere where there are substrates rich in sugars.
I hope someone will find this entry useful by clarifying some of the ambiguities associated with these buzzing bloodsuckers.
Blood-sucking bites are mainly warm-blooded, and vampire inclinations are exclusively females. Depending on the type of diet, the mosquito can consist of animal blood and plant juice, or only blood. But what do male mosquitoes eat?
A bit about mosquito diet
Hatching from an egg, future mosquitoes-boys feed on protozoa and plant organics, filtering water. It is the larva that accumulates most nutrients for life cycle. Some species maintain such a diet at all stages of development, and some, having passed the stages of the larva and pupa, go hunting.
Proteins, fats and iron, which contains blood, are needed for the formation of eggs, and for the nourishment of the female herself there are enough carbohydrates extracted from plant nectar. Since the male does not lay eggs, he does not need to hunt and the external differences between males and females emphasize this fact. A mosquito bite is possible, thanks to the finest sting that can pierce the skin. In males, instead of the tip of the sting, a soft proboscis is developed, but thin antennae, similar to feathers, develop.
Features of the nutrition of the male mosquito and its preferences
The magnificent antennae is not an ornament at all, since many bloodsuckers are at the same time pollinators. Eating nectar, the mosquito copes with the task of transferring pollen, picking it up on the antennae-brushes. Mosquitoes of both sexes have a sensitive sense of smell, but if the female is better adapted to recognize the smells of animal donors, the male can subtly smell the aromas of flowers.
Because plants with a pungent odor:
- mint;
- thyme;
- cloves;
- catnip;
- bird cherry
serve as natural repellents. Enhancing natural odors that are unpleasant to a mosquito, people invented compounds that scare away females as well.
Food for plant sugar for flight
At the stage of egg formation, the future mosquito receives a supply of necessary proteins and lipids for full development, therefore, during adulthood insect supports functioning, but does not grow. It is easiest to extract energy from sugars, and therefore all mosquitoes are sweet tooth. Nectar, which is almost entirely composed of sugars, easily decomposes to glycogen. Therefore, carbohydrate metabolism is sufficient for mosquitoes to live.
Why a male mosquito does not drink blood, if it allows him to live longer
Indeed, obtaining “building material” for cell renewal could extend the life of an individual. However, the female during this time will simply repeat the reproduction cycle several times and increase the offspring. The primitive metabolism of the male is not intended for processing protein food, and the proboscis is not able to pierce the skin. Thus, the necessary balance between individuals of different sexes is maintained, while saving the cost of resources for reproduction. However, a vegetarian diet provides mosquitoes a rather long life on the scale of the insect world, if all the dangers of the forest are avoided.
It is a very positive insect, then certainly there is little that can be said positive about the hero of today's article - a mosquito. But you can say a lot of interesting things, for example, a mosquito is a very ancient representative of the fauna of our planet, these small flying bloodsuckers have bothered dinosaurs, and even today they are no less annoying.
Mosquito: description, structure, characteristic. What does a mosquito look like?
The mosquito belongs to the Diptera squad and the family of blood-sucking mosquitoes. Mosquitoes have been living on Earth for 145 million years.
The mosquito has a thin body from 4 to 14 mm in length. Mosquito wings are transparent, they reach up to 3 cm in diameter and are covered with small scales. The abdomen of a mosquito consists of ten segments. The long legs of the mosquito end with two claws.
The color of the mosquito, in addition to the usual black or brown, can be quite unusual, as in nature green, yellow, orange and red mosquitoes are found.
An interesting fact: among the large family of mosquitoes there are also wingless species.
Also, mosquitoes have a kind of antenna, consisting of 15 parts, on which are located the olfactory organs and auditory receptors, working on the principle of a temperature sensor. It is with the help of such an antenna that the mosquito finds its victim.
How many mosquitoes live
It is very curious that female mosquitoes live much longer than males, whose average life expectancy is only 17-19 days. The life span of a female depends on temperature the environment and can be from 40 to 120 days. True, given that it is the female mosquitoes that suck blood, their life often ends prematurely ...
Where mosquitoes live
Almost everywhere, with the exception of always cold Antarctica, but these insects are most common in areas with a hot and humid climate, where they remain active for all year round. IN temperate latitudes during the period of winter colds they fall into hibernationwaking up with the arrival of spring. Interestingly, even in the Arctic for those few weeks when the heat comes there, mosquitoes breed with terrible force and very annoying the herds there.
What mosquitoes eat
It is probably no secret to anyone that only female mosquitoes suck blood, while males are quite harmless creatures. Male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar or plant sap.
But for the reproduction of offspring, females need protein food, which they just get from the blood, both humans and animals.
How a mosquito bites
Sitting on the skin of their prey, female mosquitoes gnaw a hole in the skin with sharp jaws, immerse their proboscis there, through which blood is sucked. Simultaneously with the bite, a special saliva is injected into the wound, which does not allow blood to clot, it is it that causes an allergic reaction in the form of itching, redness of the skin and swelling.
Are mosquitoes dangerous to humans?
Yes, and it’s not only the edema and unpleasant itching caused by mosquito bites, but the fact that many mosquitoes can be carriers of dangerous viruses and infections. Mosquitoes living in the tropics of Asia, Africa and South America, as they can be carriers of such dangerous diseases as malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, Zika virus, West Nile fever, etc.
Enemies of mosquitoes
Of course, mosquitoes themselves have natural conditions quite a few enemies, so they and their larvae are a delicious treat for many insects, birds, fish and amphibians: frogs, newts, salamanders, dragonflies, spiders, aquatic,.
It is also very interesting that mosquito larvae often feed on the larvae of insects such as the swimming beetle and dragonfly.
The difference between a female and a male mosquito
The mosquito is male and female, what is the difference between them in appearance. First of all, in the structure of the oral organ - the male’s jaws are underdeveloped, because he does not need to gnaw through his skin to drink blood.
Types of mosquitoes, photos and names
In nature, there are a great many different types mosquitoes, we will describe the most interesting of them:
Common mosquito (squeak)
It is the most common representative of the mosquito family. It lives on a wide geographical area, it is these mosquitoes that often bother us during forest picnics, walks near ponds, or even just at home.
Mosquito centipede (karamora)
These mosquitoes live exclusively in places with high humidity: near ponds, swamps, in shady thickets. They are large as for mosquitoes - reach 4-8 cm in length. And also these mosquitoes are safe for humans, since they feed exclusively on nectar and plant sap, but can cause harm to farmland and forest plantations.
Malaria mosquito (anopheles)
Hionei (winter mosquitoes)
These mosquitoes are similar to large spiders and for centipedes. Nevertheless, they differ both from these and from these in their way of life. They differ from other mosquitoes in their ability to tolerate cold and therefore winter mosquitoes can occur even in winter.
Also known as mosquito bells. It is a harmless representative of the mosquito family, as it eats exclusively plant foods. It lives mainly on the shores of water bodies. It differs from other mosquitoes in its appearance - has a yellowish-green color with long limbs.
Breeding mosquitoes
The life cycle of a mosquito consists of four stages of development:
- Egg: every 2-3 days, the female lays 30 to 150 eggs in the water, which mature from 2 to 8 days.
- Mosquito larva: emerges from an egg, then lives in a pond and feeds on local microorganisms. Breathes air through a special tube. During its development and formation, it goes through 4 molting, until, finally, it turns into a chrysalis.
- Pupa: its development also occurs in water and lasts up to 5 days. As it grows older, it changes color, becoming black.
- Imago: It is an adult mosquito living on land.
First, males fly into the light, having gathered in a swarm, they expect females to mate. After mating, the fertilized female goes in search of the blood she needs to lay her eggs.
How to get rid of mosquitoes at home
Sometimes mosquitoes have a bad habit of penetrating homes, bothering people in every possible way. As a means of protecting against mosquitoes, people have developed many tools, among which special mosquito nets will be very useful, preventing mosquitoes from entering the house through open windows.
Another effective mosquito repellent can be special repellents, odor-producing substances that repel mosquitoes, although their disadvantage may be that the smell of repellents can have a bad effect not only on mosquitoes, but also on people.
As a folk remedy for combating mosquitoes, a geranium flowerpot is quite suitable, whose smell also scares away these flying bloodsuckers.
- It was the mosquito that played a key role in the good old sci-fi movie Park jurassic”, Through the blood found in an ancient mosquito that got into amber, scientists were able to access the DNA of dinosaurs and thus“ resurrect ”these prehistoric dinosaurs.
- The mosquito’s flight speed is on average 3.2 km per hour, but skillfully using air currents, mosquitoes can fly up to 100 km.
- The mosquito’s weight is so small that it will not cause hesitation and will not attract the spider’s attention.
Mosquitoes, video
And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about one dangerous type of mosquito - "mosquito killers."
Mosquitoes are known firsthand. With the advent of summer, these insects, due to their biological characteristics of development, begin to bother everyone, without exception, from rural residents to those who live in large cities.
A person is one of the most popular victims of mosquitoes, since hairless skin, small thickness of the skin and proximity to its surface of blood vessels provide fast blood supply to the insatiable abdomen, which means relative safety during feeding.
In this material, we will dwell in more detail on some features of these insects, which, perhaps, will help to better understand why they behave this way and otherwise. The article will be interesting to everyone who, for various reasons, has to contact mosquitoes.
Why do mosquitoes prefer humans?
Many of us, probably, noticed that mosquitoes bite someone so hard that they actually stick around the whole body with their invasion, and they hardly touch anyone. People often explain this fact by the fact that a person simply invents, paying more attention to bites, but is it really so, try to figure it out.
Mosquitoes - one of the types of insects in which sensitive organs are perfectly developed. They have receptors located almost throughout their bodies that can detect human odors up to several tens of meters. Our aromas are one of the main indicators that mosquitoes use to determine their prey. It is worth noting that in fact only female mosquitoes only bite. They need the protein contained in the blood so that the process of fertilizing their eggs is successful.
But be that as it may, mosquitoes bite not only people. Only some species have a preference for human blood, like Anopheles gambiae, which is capable of spreading one of the most dangerous diseases - malaria. Other insect species prefer bird blood, or amphibian blood. However, it is worth noting that most of them will drink the blood of any victim that will be found at the time of the search.
As already noted, mosquitoes find their prey by the smells that it exudes. Listed below are the main ones that attract these bloodthirsty insects.
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is one of the most attractive gases that attract mosquitoes like a magnet. There are many sources of carbon dioxide in nature, but not every one of them is an indicator of the presence of a suitable victim, but only one that is formed by living organisms.
Each time we exhale, in conjunction with carbon dioxide, we release additional chemicals such as octenol, dairy, urinary and fatty acidwhich are combined with carbon dioxide to form your own unique cocktail of carbon dioxide. It is this combination of flavors that tells mosquitoes that their target is nearby.
But this is far from all. Only some of the specific combinations of exhaled substances are more attractive to mosquitoes. The smell and amount of carbon dioxide on the exhale is unique to each person and his genetics, and, unfortunately, we can not do much to change this “attractiveness”, except masking our smell.
Larger people exhale more carbon dioxide, so adult mosquitoes tend to bite more often than children. In addition, pregnant women also exhale chemical substances above average amounts and therefore become more attractive to mosquitoes.
Body odor
Bacterial colonies, combined with the secretion of sweat glands, generate a specific, unique human smell, which we call body odor, which we always consider unpleasant. Without bacteria, our sweat would be odorless, but thanks to their activity, the secrets of our skin are one of the most attractive aromas for mosquitoes, in particular malaria, which, as already noted, prefers to bite people.
In this case, it is in our power to influence a similar situation. For example, regular body washing, at least twice a day, will significantly reduce the quality of body odor. But in relation to perfumes, you need to be careful, because they can actively attract mosquitoes from all around. In addition, it is worth noting that fresh sweat is not as attractive to insects as that which stands out on the surface of a body that has not undergone a week of hygienic treatment.
Skin discharge
The physiological characteristics of 80% of the total number of people are due to the very active process of secreting compounds known as saccharides and antigens through the pores of the skin. Do not confuse this process with normal sweating or sebum secretion. In most people, on the skin you can find almost the full composition of the periodic table, many of the biochemical compounds of which are a powerful magnet for mosquitoes.
Here, as in the very first version, this process is caused solely by the genetic characteristics of each individual and there is nothing that could be done to change this process.
Blood type
Depending on the blood type, human excretory system secrets various flavors. Studies have shown that mosquitoes are most attracted to people with the first blood type, and the least - with the second. Naturally, nothing can be done here either.
Lactic acid
Lactic acid is always secreted through our skin, but its amount depends on physical activity or a diet containing certain foods. Mosquitoes are always more attracted to people with a high build-up of lactic acid on their skin. This effect can be affected by frequent washing with soap, especially after exercise. As for nutrition, lactic acid is one of the main products that is released during the digestion and assimilation of meat products.
It is worth noting that there are also other characteristics of the human body that mosquitoes react to, for example, temperature, humidity, movement and color shades, but in any case, our smells are the most important characteristics.
How mosquitoes breed - life cycle features
Like most insects, mosquitoes go through four stages of their life cycle - an egg, a larva, a chrysalis and an adult called the imago. In most species, adult females lay their eggs in stagnant water - some near the water's edge, others glue eggs on aquatic plants.
Each species selects the condition of the site and does this in accordance with its environmental adaptations. Depending on the species, mosquitoes are universal and not very finicky in environmental conditions - they will suit both large lake, and a small temporary puddle, but some give swamps or salt marshes.
Most species, including the common mosquito, which is so familiar to us all, prefer to lay eggs on aquatic plants of natural bodies of water, rainwater accumulations in the openings of tree trunks, or even on drops of moisture collected on large leaves.
The first three stages of development are the egg, the larva and the pupa, mostly aquatic. These steps usually last from 5 to 14 days, depending on the type and temperature of the environment, but there are serious exceptions. Mosquitoes living in regions where severe winter frosts are observed, or vice versa - anhydrous droughts are possible, spend part of the year in diapause. During this period, they delay their development, usually within a few months, and return to activity only when there is enough water and heat for their needs.
Eggs and Oviposition
The ways mosquitoes lay their eggs vary widely between species, and the morphology of the eggs themselves is very different. The simplest procedure that many Anopheles species, like many other gracile species, follow, is that the females simply fly above the water, bouncing up and down on its surface and dumping eggs a few pieces directly into the water. The eggs of this common mosquito species are cigar-shaped, and in their upper part contain a small air chamber, which prevents them from sinking to a great depth.
In just their life, females of many common species can lay 100-200 eggs each. Even taking into account intergenerational mortality, within a few weeks, one successful pair of mosquitoes can create a population of thousands of insects.
Larva
The mosquito larva has a well-developed head with brushes in its mouth, which it uses for feeding, a large chest area without legs and a segmented abdomen.
The mosquito larva breathes through the spiracles located on the eighth abdominal segment, so it often has to float up to the surface of the water. Larvae spend most of their time eating algae, bacteria and other microorganisms, which are found in large quantities in the surface microlayer.
During the period of his life, this form of the life cycle develops through four stages, after which it turns into a pupa. At the end of each age stage, the larvae molt, shedding their upper membranes, to ensure further growth of the body.
Doll
Seen from the side, the mosquito doll has the shape of a comma. The head and chest area merge into the cephalothorax, and the stomach bends downward. The doll can actively swim, turning over on its stomach. Like the larva, this stage of the life cycle of most mosquito species requires regular exit to the surface of the water in order to breathe. The process is carried out through a pair of breathing tubes located in the region of the cephalothorax.
It is worth noting that the pupae do not feed during this stage. As a rule, they spend time swimming on the surface of the water, exposing their breathing tubes. If something scares them, for example, a dodging shadow, they dive promptly, but soon pop up again.
After a few days or longer, depending on temperature and other circumstances, the pupa rises to the surface of the water, dorsal up and turns into an adult mosquito.
Development timeline
The developmental period from an egg to an adult varies in different mosquito species and is highly dependent on ambient temperature. Some species can develop from an egg to an adult in just five days, but a more typical period of development in tropical conditions will be about 40 days or more for most species. The change in body size in adult mosquitoes depends on the density of larval nutrition and the presence of food within the area of \u200b\u200bthe reservoir.
What the male mosquito eats and other features of mosquito biology
Adult mosquitoes usually take off during the first day after exiting the pupa. In most species, males form large flocks, usually within the shadow area, forming the well-known "mosquito column", where females gather and mating occurs.
The life span of a male mosquito, as a rule, is about 5-7 days, and they feed on nectar and other sources of sugar that plants give. But females after fertilization immediately set off in search of their potential victims. After receiving a full portion of blood, the female will rest for several days until the blood is digested and the eggs develop. This process is temperature dependent, but usually takes two to three days in tropical conditions. After the eggs are fully developed, the female lays them and continues to search for the next host.
A similar cycle is repeated until the female dies. Most of them do not live longer than one to two weeks in nature. Their lifespan depends on temperature, humidity, as well as the ability to successfully receive a portion of fresh blood, while avoiding the protection of the victim.
Of particular interest is the oral apparatus of the mosquito, which is an almost ideal system for obtaining blood. The insect head has an elongated shape, forward and protruding like a sting proboscis, which they use for feeding. In addition, in the “kit” there are two sensory tentacles, with which the female looks for the most convenient place for puncture, because it is necessary that the skin in this place be thinner and the blood vessel closer. At the very end of the proboscis are the rudiments of the upper lip, with which the insect, like sharp razors, gnaws the upper layers of the skin of the victim.
Two channels pass through the proboscis cavity. One connects the working area of \u200b\u200bthe organ with the digestive system, and along the second, saliva is drawn into the bite site, which contains substances that prevent blood coagulation and light painkillers. So nature helps the insect to more successfully carry out the act of bloodsucking.
As for males, their oral apparatus is much simpler and more of a licking type than of a piercing-sucking one. This is enough for them to get the nutrients of the plant sap, which is what they eat all their short life.
People often ask what mosquitoes eat in swamps. As it has already become clear, the male is exclusively vegetable juices, and in any case the female will need blood, which means the victim containing it. If there is a shortage of warm-blooded creatures, female mosquitoes can quite successfully attack amphibians and reptiles, including swamp snakes, lizards, frogs and others. There are species that even bite fish.
The stomach of a female mosquito is designed not only for the digestion of blood, but also the development of eggs. The digestive intestine can accommodate a volume of blood that is three times the body weight of a female mosquito. This segment expands significantly during the bite process, which can be observed with the naked eye.
It is often believed that a mosquito is so insatiable that it can literally burst from an excess of blood. In fact, this is a myth. A female mosquito will drink exactly as much blood as she needs and not a microgram anymore. But no less, therefore, if her nutrition process is disrupted, she will again begin to search for the victim in order to supplement the missing volume.
In addition, mosquitoes are believed to be capable of transmitting infectious diseases if they had previously bitten an infected body. This is also a myth, because the blood that once got into the abdomen of a mosquito will come out from there, either in digested excrement, or after the destruction of the insect.
Through the alimentary canal connecting the proboscis and digestive gut of a mosquito, the movement of blood is possible only in one direction - to the gut.
If we talk about the inverse relationship in food chains, answering the question - which animal eats mosquitoes, the answer will be very extensive. Mosquito eggs, their larvae and pupae are an excellent food for fish, frogs and water bugs. Those who eat mosquitoes when they have reached the adult stage include all species of birds, amphibians and reptiles. I must say that mosquitoes occupy a strong place in the niche of the food chains, which should by no means be broken, for example, through the global use of insecticides.