10 Facts About Mosquitoes You Didn’t Know

You know that mosquitoes bite and sometimes carry diseases, but what else do you know about them? Here are 10 facts about mosquitoes that you probably didn’t know.

1. New York, NY is the buggiest city in the U.S. According to a recent list, the Big Apple was determined to be the city most bothered by bugs. Boston, MA was number 2.
2. Mosquitoes are known to have existed 400 million years ago. Remember in the movie Jurassic Park when the scientist collects blood from a mosquito that had been preserved in amber after biting a dinosaur? The movie might not have been so far off. In 2019, a mosquito that had been preserved in amber for 100 million years was discovered. That mosquito, which may have been carrying malaria, can help scientists understand the ancient history of malaria, which may offer clues on how its modern-day life cycle evolved.
3. The average mosquito takes in about 5-millionths of a liter of blood during feeding. It’s pretty amazing that such a small insect that takes such a small amount of blood from a host can cause so much harm. Nevertheless, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus (WNV) are just a couple of the viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes.
4. There are several ways mosquitoes find hosts. Detecting infra-red radiation emitted by warm bodies is one way mosquitoes find hosts. Mosquitoes are also attracted to carbon dioxide and lactic acid in humans and can identify them at distances of up to 50 feet. Bigger people are often more attractive to mosquitoes because they are larger targets and they produce more CO2 and lactic acid. Active or fidgety people also produce more CO2 and lactic acid.
5. There are 8 types of mosquitoes commonly found in Massachusetts. That’s just a small portion of the mosquitoes that exist – there are about 3,500 species of mosquitoes!
6. Male mosquitoes feed on plants, but females need a blood meal before they can lay eggs. Only female mosquitoes bite.
7. Malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, infects around 250 million people each year worldwide. It kills about one million, mostly children in Africa. While malaria has been eradicated in the United States and other counties, those traveling to sub-Saharan Africa have the greatest risk of contracting the disease. We recognize the risk that mosquitoes pose, so Mosquito Joe is a proud partner of Nothing But Nets, a non-profit organization that sends insecticide-treated bed nets to people at risk of contracting malaria.
8. The last outbreak of yellow fever, another mosquito-borne illness, in the United States was in 1905. The city of New Orleans was trying to prevent the disease by fumigating all the ships that came to port there. A smuggler’s ship full of bananas avoided the quarantine and not long after cases began to emerge among Italian immigrants who unloaded banana boats.
9. Some kinds of mosquitoes can fly 1.5 miles per hour. Although you may be able to outrun one mosquito, protecting yourself with repellant and appropriate clothing is much easier!
10. Crane flies are not a type of mosquito. Although they look like huge mosquitoes, Crane flies are not mosquitoes. They do not bite humans – in fact, they don’t bite at all!

While these facts are fun, getting bit by mosquitoes is not. Visit us online to learn more about our treatment options and how we can make outside fun again for you and your family. To add an extra layer of defense against mosquitoes, give us a call at Mosquito Joe of Walpole-Waltham today at 508-669-0271!