Mosquito Control

Mosquitoes are a family of small, midge-like flies. Although a few species are harmless or even useful to humanity, most are a nuisance because they consume blood from living vertebrates, including humans. The females of many species of mosquitoes are blood-eating pests. In feeding on blood, some of them transmit extremely harmful human and livestock diseases, such as malaria. Some authorities argue accordingly that mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on Earth.

Typically, both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar and plant juices, but in many species, the mouthparts of the females are adapted for piercing the skin of animal hosts and sucking their blood. In many species, the female needs to obtain nutrients from a blood meal before she can produce eggs, whereas, in many other species, she can produce more eggs after a blood meal. Both plant materials and blood are useful sources of energy in the form of sugars, and blood also supplies more concentrated nutrients, such as lipids, but the most important function of blood meals is to obtain proteins as materials for egg production.