Mosquitoes in Alaska?!
I was reading XX's blog and she mentioned that there are alot of mosquitoes in Alaska. Initially, I was laughing at her and thinking that she is stupid. I did not believe that there are alot of mosquitoes in Alaska because Alaska is a pretty cold place and mosquitoes seldom appear in those cold climates. But I was wrong!! I guess I am the fool. Haha.
A quick check on Google came up with many websites that show that mosquitoes are really an issue for Alaska. There are up to 35 species of mosquitoes in Alaska!!! Incredible and freaking disgusting. Maybe the mosquito situation in Singapore is not that bad after all. I should be glad that I am actually in Singapore and not Alaska! Laugh!!
Found some of the information listed in the websites to be extremely useful and informative. Hence, I decided to copy and paste and share it with you guys.
The majority of mosquitoes in Alaska spend the winter as eggs within the specific habitat where they will eventually develop into larval, pupal, and adult stages. This means that female adults deposit eggs during late summer in the habitats mentioned above. These eggs then lie dormant throughout the winter until water temperatures are warm enough for hatching to occur the following spring. Mosquito eggs can sometimes lie dormant for several years, particularly when the eggs are deposited in depressions that are not flooded with water each year. – Amazing!
Only female mosquitoes bother us. Females need protein from blood to develop their ovaries and reproduce. Males survive by sipping nectar from flowers and sucking juices plants and fruit; females also supplement their diet with nectar. Mosquitoes use visual, thermal, and olfactory stimuli to locate a host. Of these, olfactory cues are probably most important. For mosquitoes that feed during the daytime, movement of the host and the wearing of dark-colored clothing may initiate orientation toward a person. Visual cues seem to be important for in-flight orientation, particularly over long ranges, whereas olfactory stimuli become more important as a mosquito nears its host.
Using sensors on its antennae, a mosquito picks up animals' body heat, odor and carbon dioxide from exhaled breath. The female mosquito follows the trail upwind to its source. Once mosquitoes get closer, they're attracted to other cues such as dark colors, moisture in the air, and silhouettes of potential victims. British researchers found that mosquitoes responded to the body cues of an animal standing 45 feet away.
Female mosquitoes do not use the sense of sight or touch in seeking out victims or the most stingable parts of victims. A mosquito will become restless and commence to fly around if there is an increase of carbon dioxide in the surrounding air. At first, the direction of the flight path may be random, but if the mosquito finds warm and moist air she tries to stay in it. Since animals give off carbon dioxide as well as heat and moisture, the mosquito can quickly home in on a patch of exposed skin in preparation for a good meal.
Insect repellents are designed to block mosquitoes' sensory organs with heavy, bulky molecules. When its sensors are clogged with repellent a mosquito is fooled into looking elsewhere for its blood meal. Mosquito repellents do not repel mosquitos because the repellents smell or taste badly to the mosquitos. Instead, the repelling action is by a more subtle process that blocks sensory functions.
For those who are keen to find out more can visit this website:
http://www.homestead.com/ipmofalaska/files/mosquitoes.html
A quick check on Google came up with many websites that show that mosquitoes are really an issue for Alaska. There are up to 35 species of mosquitoes in Alaska!!! Incredible and freaking disgusting. Maybe the mosquito situation in Singapore is not that bad after all. I should be glad that I am actually in Singapore and not Alaska! Laugh!!
Found some of the information listed in the websites to be extremely useful and informative. Hence, I decided to copy and paste and share it with you guys.
The majority of mosquitoes in Alaska spend the winter as eggs within the specific habitat where they will eventually develop into larval, pupal, and adult stages. This means that female adults deposit eggs during late summer in the habitats mentioned above. These eggs then lie dormant throughout the winter until water temperatures are warm enough for hatching to occur the following spring. Mosquito eggs can sometimes lie dormant for several years, particularly when the eggs are deposited in depressions that are not flooded with water each year. – Amazing!
Only female mosquitoes bother us. Females need protein from blood to develop their ovaries and reproduce. Males survive by sipping nectar from flowers and sucking juices plants and fruit; females also supplement their diet with nectar. Mosquitoes use visual, thermal, and olfactory stimuli to locate a host. Of these, olfactory cues are probably most important. For mosquitoes that feed during the daytime, movement of the host and the wearing of dark-colored clothing may initiate orientation toward a person. Visual cues seem to be important for in-flight orientation, particularly over long ranges, whereas olfactory stimuli become more important as a mosquito nears its host.
Using sensors on its antennae, a mosquito picks up animals' body heat, odor and carbon dioxide from exhaled breath. The female mosquito follows the trail upwind to its source. Once mosquitoes get closer, they're attracted to other cues such as dark colors, moisture in the air, and silhouettes of potential victims. British researchers found that mosquitoes responded to the body cues of an animal standing 45 feet away.
Female mosquitoes do not use the sense of sight or touch in seeking out victims or the most stingable parts of victims. A mosquito will become restless and commence to fly around if there is an increase of carbon dioxide in the surrounding air. At first, the direction of the flight path may be random, but if the mosquito finds warm and moist air she tries to stay in it. Since animals give off carbon dioxide as well as heat and moisture, the mosquito can quickly home in on a patch of exposed skin in preparation for a good meal.
Insect repellents are designed to block mosquitoes' sensory organs with heavy, bulky molecules. When its sensors are clogged with repellent a mosquito is fooled into looking elsewhere for its blood meal. Mosquito repellents do not repel mosquitos because the repellents smell or taste badly to the mosquitos. Instead, the repelling action is by a more subtle process that blocks sensory functions.
For those who are keen to find out more can visit this website:
http://www.homestead.com/ipmofalaska/files/mosquitoes.html
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