June Kids Corner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
All about mosquitoes
This time of year, it can feel like mosquitoes are everywhere! It’s easy to think of mosquitoes as “bad” bugs. They bite us, make us itchy, drive us indoors around dinnertime, and cause grownups to cover kids in stinky bug spray! But how much do you really know about them?
In this Kids Corner we’ll:
Learn about mosquitoes’ life cycles and habitat
Discuss why mosquito bites are something we try to avoid
Learn how to reduce the mosquito population around our homes and community.
Mosquitoes live all over the world; everywhere except Antarctica. There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes in the world, 200 species of mosquitoes in the United States, and 48 species in New Hampshire! While each species is different from the others, they have a lot in common.
•Mosquitoes eat blood from other animals. The scientific term for a creature that eats blood is hematophagic.
•Scientists call mosquitoes micropredators. Micropredators hunt lots of different prey organisms and only take a small amount of blood from each. (The amount feels small to us, but a mosquito can actually eat its own body weight in blood!)
•Mosquitoes need water to reproduce. We’re used to seeing adult mosquitoes flying around, but three out of their four life stages actually happen in the water! Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into a larva, which then turns into a pupa. Finally an adult mosquito emerges and leaves the water.
•Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk.The scientific term for species that are most active at dawn and dusk is crepuscular. During the hottest part of the day most mosquitoes find a dark place to rest, but some are still active midday.
•Mosquitoes are very good at hunting animals to feed on, especially people.
Mosquitoes feed on animals such as birds, horses, and cattle; but unfortunately they are especially good at hunting for humans. You may have heard that mosquitoes are attracted to certain colors or certain smells or different blood types. In reality mosquitoes are attracted to just about everything about people.
Mosquitoes use lots of different senses to find people. They can sense the carbon dioxide we exhale from far away, and it attracts them to us. They can smell certain chemicals in our skin and tell that we are human. They can sense the heat coming from our bodies through the air, and they can see us with their eyes. So, unfortunately, wearing a specific color isn't enough to stop mosquitoes from finding or biting us.
•Some species of mosquitoes carry diseases that make humans sick. Because there are so many mosquitoes around the world biting humans every day, many scientists consider mosquitoes the most dangerous animal in the world!
Luckily, mosquito-borne illnesses are relatively rare in New Hampshire. However, we still need to be aware of two main mosquito-borne viruses in our area, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (also known as Triple E), and West Nile Virus. Both of these viruses actually come from birds! When a mosquito bites a bird infected with the virus, it can then transmit the virus to a human. Because mosquitoes transfer the virus from one creature to another, scientists call mosquitoes vectors of disease.
They’re Not All Bad
Every creature has its place in an ecosystem; even mosquitoes.
•Mosquitoes are Pollinators!
Mosquitoes don’t just eat blood. They eat plant nectar and sap too! In fact, male mosquitoes only eat nectar and sap and don’t bite at all! Female mosquitoes eat blood for protein only when they are producing eggs.
Since mosquitoes travel from flower to flower spreading pollen as they go, mosquitoes are actually pollinators!
•Mosquitoes are Food!
While humans may be food for mosquitoes, mosquitoes are food for lots of other animals. Mosquito eggs and larvae are a food source for dragonfly larvae, newts, tadpoles, and fish, among other species. Adult mosquitoes are food for birds like woodpeckers, wrens, and hummingbirds, insects like dragonflies, as well as bats and spiders, among others.
Your Turn
You will need
A grown up/buddy
A magnifying glass (optional)
Pencil and paper
Mosquito bites are itchy and no fun. And because certain mosquitoes carry diseases, we definitely don’t want mosquitoes laying eggs around our homes! Unfortunately mosquitoes can lay eggs in tiny amounts of water, and a female mosquito can lay 50 to 200 eggs at a time!
Mosquito eggs and larvae do especially well in stagnant water around human homes because there aren’t as many natural predators like fish or tadpoles to eat them as there are in a natural ecosystem. Tires, containers, puddles, and even something as small as a bottle cap can be a perfect mosquito nursery.
Head outside with your grown up and look for places where water has collected. If you find some, look closely. You might find some tiny mosquito larvae wriggling around! Check them out with your magnifying glass.
Scientists are great at making observations and recording data, so once you’ve looked at them closely, practice drawing a labelled sketch of any larvae and where you found them.
You can help keep mosquito populations down around your home by getting rid of standing water where they can lay their eggs. Ask your grown up for help doing this safely.
Sources
https://blog.nwf.org/2020/09/what-purpose-do-mosquitoes-serve/
https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/general-information-about-mosquitoes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585164/
Images
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aedes_Mosquito_-_52443612501.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito_Life-Cycle.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Light_Bulb_or_Idea_Flat_Icon_Vector.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito_on_marigold_flower.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Culex_sp_larvae.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20191129_Dytiscidae_larva_hunting_wiggler.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phidippus_princeps_3053.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSM_V63_D466_Goldfish_eating_mosquito_larvae.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Culex_pipiens.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EEE_Transmission_Cycle.jpg
Thanks to our partner, the Gale River Cooperative Preschool in Bethlehem, for helping our area parents get kiddos outside for fun no matter the time of year.
