Mosquitos Eating All adult mosquitoes feed on the nectar or honey dew of plants to get sugar, and that provides enough nourishment for both males and females to live, but females also need to produce eggs. To create eggs, females need protein, which they get from the blood of animals. The blood can come from humans, mammals, birds, reptiles or frogs. In some species of mosquitoes, the fertilized females hibernate over the winter, while the males die off when cold weather comes. To survive without food while they're hibernating, the females need to eat extra sugars to double their weight in the fall, so they don't need to feed again until spring. Late in the season, they stop looking for animals to bite and instead seek rotting fruit or nectar. A news release about the discovery explains how it occurs: "As the days begin to get shorter, two genes that code for digesting blood switch off, and a different gene for digesting sugar and retaining fat switches on." Female mosquitoes have a long, thin proboscis, or mouthpiece, that is similar to male mosquitoes', but more efficient for extracting blood. After landing on a potential victim, she probes the skin and injects saliva. The saliva has chemicals in it which thin the blood, making it easier for her to suck up, and which numb the skin, making the victim less apt to notice what's happening, and which lubricate the area so she can insert the proboscis. The lingering effects of the saliva are also what make mosquito bites itch afterwards. Mosquitoes don't spread disease by transferring blood from one victim to another. Instead, the disease is passed in the injected saliva.
Mosquitos Eating All adult mosquitoes feed on the nectar or honey dew of plants to get sugar, and that provides enough nourishment for both males and females to live, but females also need to produce eggs. To create eggs, females need protein, which they get from the blood of animals. The blood can come from humans, mammals, birds, reptiles or frogs. In some species of mosquitoes, the fertilized females hibernate over the winter, while the males die off when cold weather comes. To survive without food while they're hibernating, the females need to eat extra sugars to double their weight in the fall, so they don't need to feed again until spring. Late in the season, they stop looking for animals to bite and instead seek rotting fruit or nectar. A news release about the discovery explains how it occurs: "As the days begin to get shorter, two genes that code for digesting blood switch off, and a different gene for digesting sugar and retaining fat switches on." Female mosquitoes have a long, thin proboscis, or mouthpiece, that is similar to male mosquitoes', but more efficient for extracting blood. After landing on a potential victim, she probes the skin and injects saliva. The saliva has chemicals in it which thin the blood, making it easier for her to suck up, and which numb the skin, making the victim less apt to notice what's happening, and which lubricate the area so she can insert the proboscis. The lingering effects of the saliva are also what make mosquito bites itch afterwards. Mosquitoes don't spread disease by transferring blood from one victim to another. Instead, the disease is passed in the injected saliva.
Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th Edition)
11th Edition
ISBN:9780134580999
Author:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Publisher:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Chapter1: The Human Body: An Orientation
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1RQ: The correct sequence of levels forming the structural hierarchy is A. (a) organ, organ system,...
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1. Identify abiotic factors that support the survival and reproduction of the pest.
2. Identify biotic factors that support the survival and reproduction of the pest.
3. Predict what factors in the environment can be altered to decreases the survival and reproduction of the pest.
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