Why do mosquitoes bite?
Only female mosquitoes bite. Female mosquitoes require a blood meal to acquire the protein needed to produce eggs. Females lay multiple batches of eggs during their lifespan, and a new blood meal is needed to produce each batch. Different mosquito species prefer different host species; some mosquitoes will seek blood meals from birds, others from mammals – and some are generalists. The female inserts her needle-like proboscis – a slender, tubular, feeding and sucking organ – under the victim’s skin, drawing blood into her abdomen. She will feed until her abdomen is full, unless discovered and brushed away. Why do mosquitoes seem to bite some people, but not others? This phenomenon is not completely understood. Mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide that we – and other animals – exhale. They may also be attracted by various odors – perfume, perspiration, lactic acid, detergents – that combine in unique ways to make one victim more attractive than another as a meal. Because dark
Adult female mosquitoes need blood to produce eggs and perpetuate their species.Although they can survive by feeding on sugary liquids, it is only after a blood meal that they start producing eggs. Only female mosquitoes bite. Male mosquitoes feed on sugars found in fruits and flowers. Mosquitoes looking for a blood meal are mainly attracted to carbon dioxide in the breath, body heat, and sweat of humans. Lactic acid and numerous other scents emitted by the human skin have also been found attractive to mosquitoes. Individuals who produce more body heat, sweat, carbon dioxide, and lactic acid will be more attractive to mosquitoes.
