All Mosquitoes Breed in Water 



All mosquitoes breed in water and in water only. They do noi 

 breed in damp grass or dew. The life cycle is fundamentally the 

 same in all groups and the stages of development are practically 

 similar. If we review the life history of one kind, therefore, it will 

 apply to the others equally as well. As the house mosquito is better 

 known than the others, it is here described as a typical example 



Typical Life History 



/•" 



All mosquitoes originate from an egg and water is necessary it 

 order to hatch this egg. The female mosquito, flying along, sees a 

 small pool of water, an uncovered rain barrel, an upturned pail full 

 of water, or some other container full or partly full, and there she 

 drops her eggs. The eggs are laid in small black masses of fro™ 



' — ^....Cft 



eve 



X TU&8 



Fig. 2— {to the left). Diagram oi 

 Mosquito Larva. Note breathing tube 

 and tufts of hair. 



Fig. 3 — (above). Diagram of Mos- 

 quito Pupa. It is from this form thai 

 the adult emerges 



fifty to four hundred each. They look like a tiny boat floating ot 

 the water surface and for this reason are often referred to as "egg 

 boats" or "rafts." From the egg comes the larva, commonly called 

 "wriggler" or "wiggle-tail." The wriggler is an energetic individual 

 and gets its name because of its rapid "letter S" motion in the water 

 It feeds on the organic matter in the water and gets its air supply 

 by sticking its long tail-like siphon through the upper surface. That 

 is why it always comes up tail first with head down. The larva stays 

 as such for 6 days to 3 weeks, depending on the temperature, and 

 then becomes a pupa. This is a decidedly changed form. The head 

 becomes enlarged and the tail curls up. Breathing is now done 

 through two little horns at the top of the head. In the water, the 

 pupa resembles a comma in shape, and though it still retains its 

 rapid methods of locomotion, it is not as active as the larva. After 

 24 to 72 hours, the pupal skin cracks and the adult mosquito emerges 



*> 



