Look out
July 18, 2012 (Wednesday)
As I sat down to write this article, a mosquito buzzed my ear. I then typed in my browser’s search box some questions about the buzzing sound made by mosquitoes. I learned that the wings of a mosquito beat from 250 to 1000 times per second. I also learned that only the female mosquito is equipped to bite humans and devour their blood.
Over 2500 species of mosquitoes exist around the world, 150 of those in the United States. Probably only about 8 species generate 99% of complaints about them. Most stay near their points of origin, but some have been known to travel 75 miles away. Males live about a week but females live about a month.
Mosquito bites leave itchy, painful welts behind that can last for days, but these pests pose more serious health risks than an itchy bite mark–they can sometimes cause diseases. Some of these diseases can be quite serious, even causing death.
Research suggests mosquitoes actually have discriminating tastes when it comes to their victims, choosing targets based on characteristics like scent and blood type. Everybody has a body odor, but some people seem to have a combination of skin secretions that help mask the compounds mosquitoes love. These secretions have an odor, invisible to humans but not to mosquitoes. People blessed with these camouflage secretions usually say they are “immune” to mosquitoes.
Be careful out there, ya heah? Be on the lookout for the Anopheles quadrimaculatus, and her cousins with similar names. Scary, huh?