That is a lot of mosquitoes! Once in Wyoming we aborted our camping trip because there were too many to handle…definitely type 4 fun.
The tiny mosquito can have a huge impact on any outdoor experience you have. Here are 7 mosquito facts, such as why they bite and where they live.
Somehow, sitting in my house I always forget to think about what often accompanies a day out in the mountains – mosquitoes! They are always out in huge numbers early in the summer and their buzzing and biting can make a great day in the mountains a bit less fun. Luckily, as the summer moves on their numbers begin to lessen. Regardless of how many you see, they make up part of the natural world of the Rockies.
7 Mosquito Facts
I used to wonder what possible role they could play in the environment. They may be super annoying and drive me crazy, but they do serve a purpose. They provide a food source for other animals. The aquatic larvae are food for many fish and lots of other insects. The winged adults are food for many birds, amphibians, and bats. (Mosquitoes undergo metamorphosis, so they change form from a aquatic larvae to a winged adult)
Did you know that not all mosquitoes bite? It is actually only the females that do the biting and sucking of blood. Male mosquitoes do not bite people, instead they drink flower nectar. Females on the other hand are the ones that want to suck your blood! The females need some blood so that they can have babies – they need a blood meal in order to develop and lay eggs.
Mosquitoes are active in the Rocky Mountains for the warm months – approximately April to September. Their activity is closely associated with the temperature. They are more active in warmer temperatures. If the nights get below 50 degrees then they will become much less active. So, the cold nights of fall are good in that it means there won’t be as many mosquitoes.
Amazing that such a tiny insect can cause me to get zero sleep at night!
All mosquitoes and flies have two wings which they beat incredibly fast to fly. They beat their wings 100 to 300 times per second! It is that fast speed which creates the oh so annoying buzzing sound we associate with mosquitoes.
Scientists estimate that about 20% of people tend to get bit by mosquitoes more frequently than others. They do not know the exact reason for this, but some possible factors are: blood type (type O is most delicious for mosquitoes); amount of exercise and metabolism; larger people that are warmer and exhale more carbon dioxide; pregnant women; and genetics.
They are home bodies – they usually stay within a mile of the place that they are born.
One more negative fact about this winged creatures. Mosquitoes are carriers for some of the deadliest diseases in the world for people. Some of the diseases that mosquitoes spread include malaria, yellow fever, and dengue.
Read this other post for tips on how to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes.