Lifespan of a Mosquito

Mosquito is an insect, which belongs to the insect family of Culicidae. The word Culicidae comes from a Latin word culex, which means gnat. On close observation it is clear that mosquitoes look like crane flies. There are about 3500 species of mosquitoes, which are found all over the world. The mouthparts of mosquitoes are adapted for piercing the skin of animals as well as plants. A fact about the mosquitoes is that it is the female of the species, who feeds on blood, while the male feeds on nectar and plant juices. In other words, it is not the male of the species, which harasses humans and animals, it's the female. At the same time, it is important to note that not females of all species of mosquitoes feed on humans and spread diseases. After this basic information about the mosquitoes, let's turn to the lifespan details.

What is the Lifespan of a Mosquito?

Like most types of flying insects, mosquitoes also go through four stages in their lifespan. The four stages include egg, larva, pupa and adult stage. The first three stages of mosquito lifespan are spent in water.

Egg Stage
The female mosquito lays eggs in water. Normally marshes, lakes, puddles, artificial water containers are chosen to lay eggs. Stagnant water is where mosquitoes breed.

Larva Stage
The larva stage is the second stage in the mosquito life cycle. When the larvae emerge out of the eggs, they have a well-developed head. Their mouths have brushes, which are used for feeding. They have a large thorax, but lack legs in this stage. The abdomen is segmented. They use the spiracles located on the eighth segment of the abdomen to breathe. Hence, they come to the surface of water often, to breathe. In this stage of their life, the maximum amount of time is spent in eating algae, bacteria and other micro-organisms, which live on the surface of water. Only when the larvae are disturbed, do they dive into water. Since the larvae do not have developed legs or wings, they have a jerky movement, when they swim. Therefore, they are commonly called wrigglers. The larva stage is divided into four stages, or instars. After they have completed all the four stages, they enter the pupa stage. Towards the end of each instar, the larvae are known to molt.

Pupa Stage
If you have to distinguish a larva of a mosquito from a pupa, you can use the shape to make the distinction. The pupa looks like a comma, when you view it from the side. In this stage, the head and thorax are blended together with the abdominal region. Like in the larva stage, the pupae also have to frequently come to the surface for breathing. However, in the pupa stage they use the respiratory trumpets for breathing. Unlike the previous stage, in this stage mosquitoes do not feed at all. Subsequently the pupa comes to the surface of water. This is when the dorsal surface splits and emerges into an adult mosquito. As compared to the larva stage, in the pupa stage, these insects are less active.

Adult Stage
The size of the mosquito in the adult stage is largely related to the number of larvae present in the water body. After a couple of days of entering the adult stage, the mosquitoes mate. In most of the species of the mosquitoes, at dawn and/or dusk the mosquitoes form a large swarm and fly together. The females of the species fly into this swarm and mate. The lifespan of a male mosquito is lesser than the lifespan of a female mosquito. The males live for about a week's time, by feeding on nectar from plants. The females live for about 15 to 18 days, by feeding on blood. Usually the female feeds herself on blood and then rests for a few days. During this period the blood is digested and the eggs are developed. After the eggs are well-developed, the female lays eggs and starts host seeking again.

The average lifespan depends largely on the temperature mosquito is in. On an average, a female mosquito is known to live anywhere between 15 to 100 days, while the male mosquito is known to live anywhere between 15 to 25 days. Scientists are coming to believe, that mosquitoes, considering the number of diseases they cause to spread, can be eradicated completely and it will not harm the ecology in any way.