According to National public health agencies, and the World Health Organization, mosquitoes are the most dangerous in the world. They kill 400,000 people a year and sicken hundreds of millions more.
Quoted from Treehugger dot com, here are the interesting facts that you did not know about mosquitoes.
1. Mosquitoes Sniff Out Their Victims
In fact,
they can sniff out a host from 100 feet away.
2. Male Mosquitoes Don't Bite
They rely on the protein from
blood meals to produce their eggs, but they also drink it to stay hydrated.
3. They Become Better Hunters When Infected
Female mosquitoes are already unquenchably bloodthirsty,
but researchers have found that those infected with the
dengue virus, which they can transmit to humans, are even hungrier for the red
stuff.
The virus equips them with the perfect cocktail for blood
consumption:
4. Mosquitoes With Parasites Are Even More
Bloodthirsty
Not only do parasites live and feed on mosquitoes, but
the clever moochers can also manipulate their host's behavior to increase their
odds of spreading.
Research has shown that mosquitoes infected with the malaria
parasite want longer and more
frequent blood meals than noninfected mosquitoes, all to better the chance of
obtaining a human host.
5. Their Spit Leaves Skin Itchy
When a mosquito sets her sights on a target, she hones
in, divebombs, and inserts her microscopic proboscis into the victim's skin.
As she sucks blood, she leaves behind a dollop of saliva,
which serves as an anticoagulant (to prevent clotting) so that she may feast more
efficiently.
6. Not All Mosquitoes Can Carry West Nile Virus
Of the thousands of known mosquito species, West Nile
virus has been found in just around 65 of them. The virus usually cycles
between Culex mosquito species and common urban birds,
like robins,
northern cardinals, and house sparrows. Nearly 80 percent of people who are
infected with the virus will not show any symptoms,
which range from mild irritation and stupor to coma and
death.
7. They May Be the Reason Alexander the Great Died
Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia and conqueror of
the Persian Empire, never lost a battle and is considered to be one of
history's most successful commanders,
but he is thought to have ultimately been defeated at the
age of 32 by a mosquito infected with West Nile encephalitis
8. They're Quite Slow
Vicious as the man-eaters may be, they move at a
surprisingly pokey pace. The average mosquito weighs 2 to 2.5 milligrams,
seemingly enabling them to fly swiftly,
but not so.7 Instead, they fly at speeds between 1 and 1.5 miles
per hour, making them one of the slowest flying insects of all. A
dragonfly, for comparison, can go about 35 miles per hour.
9. Mosquitoes Are the Deadliest Animals in the
World
Beware the dangers of tigers, sharks, and snakes? Nay,
fear the mosquito, the most lethal creature on the
planet.
More deaths are caused by mosquitoes than any other
animal
A single malarial
mosquito can infect more than 100 people.
According to the
World Health Organization, malaria kills a child every minute in Africa.
Those
are 9 interesting facts about mosquitoes, animals that are categorized as the
most dangerous in the world and happen to be around us. Thank you for visiting
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Note :
1.
The source of
content https://www.treehugger.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-mosquitoes-4863639
2.
Pictures are taken
from google
