Description and photos of varieties of mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are one of the most common insects on the globe. They inhabit almost everywhere, the only exception is the territory of Antarctica. Science knows about 3 thousand species of such individuals. Moreover, mosquitoes are both completely harmless and very dangerous to humans. All of them are united by a family of diptera insects, a characteristic feature of which are the mouth organs that look like a case. It has jaws with long and thin teeth. Due to this structure of the oral apparatus, the insect is able to feed on plant juice, flower nectar, and even human blood (they can be viewed in more detail in the mosquito photo below).

Varieties of mosquitoes

In nature, there are various types of mosquitoes. The family of dipterans insects can be divided into 3 subfamilies:

• Culicinae (non-malarial mosquitoes). Includes insects of the following genera: Uranotaenia and Aedes (bites), Psorophora and Culex (real mosquitoes), Orthopodomyia and Coquillettidia, Mansonia and Culiseta, Haemagogus and
• Malaria mosquitoes. This subfamily combines the genera: Bironella, Anopheles, Chagasia.
• Toxorhynchitinae, genus Toxorhynchites.

Types of mosquitoes in Russia

On the territory of the Russian Federation about a hundred species of representatives of the diptera family live. The most common are the following mosquito species.

Culex

The genus Kuleks (Culex) has more than 1000 species of mosquitoes, and only 100 of them are registered in Russia. The most famous is the Piskun mosquito, which lives almost everywhere. It is from him bites People suffer while camping or walking in the park.

The body of an adult reaches 3-8 mm. A representative of this species has a pair of wings up to 4 mm long with narrow black bristles. Mosquito structure the male differs from the female in more fluffy tendrils (a mosquito photo near is presented below).

Interesting!

Only female couples are bloodsucking. Therefore, having discovered an individual with a red abdomen, it becomes clear that this is a satiated female. Moreover insects feed not only human blood, but also animals and birds. For the same reason, scribbles are carriers of dangerous diseases: Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, eczema, urticaria, filariasis.

Males are real “vegetarians” due to the fact that their oral apparatus is much weaker (the length of the proboscis is noticeably shorter than the length of the mustache). Therefore, they prefer plant food, eating floral nectar and plant juice.

Due to the proteins and iron contained in the blood, females are able to lay eggs. They make masonry in stagnant bodies of water, which can be not only forest swamps and lakes, but even even the most ordinary puddles. Egg laying resembles a raft moving on the surface of the water, in which up to 3 dozen eggs can be found. After some time, he settles to the bottom. Egg formation takes from 1.5 to 8 days (depending on water temperature). Emerged from an egg larva undergoes several molts, after which it pupates. After several days, an adult or an ordinary mosquito appears from the pupa.

Nipper

Representatives of the species Aedes (bites) live mainly in the tropics and subtropics, preferring forest zones. They can tolerate very dangerous diseases, such as yellow fever, Zika virus, or dengue fever.

On a note!

One of the most famous carriers of such diseases is yellow fever bite. Medium-sized insects (up to 7 mm) have a unique black and white color. Moreover, all body organs, including limbs, are marked with white stripes.

Female eggs are laid in lowlands, where water accumulates during the thaw. Initially, they have a white or yellowish color. As they develop, they begin to darken, acquiring a brown tint. Larvae appear and live in the water, feeding on algae, tissues of dead plants and microorganisms. After some time, the larvae pupate and get to the surface of the reservoir. After the moult, adult individuals emerge from them, who hid in shelters for some time. Insects are waiting for the moment when their wings spread, and the cover finally hardens.

No less dangerous is the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus. This is a tropical black mosquito with bright old stripes located throughout the body, found mainly in Asia, and has recently been seen in Russia. It is distinguished by aggressiveness and mobility: it is able to fly at a low altitude, but at a high speed, biting people into exposed parts of the body. The size of the insect reaches 5 mm, and the difference between the female and the male in extremely large sizes. It is a carrier of dangerous viral infectious diseases (malaria, typhoid, dengue fever or Zika virus).

Anopheles

Malaria mosquitoes are among the most dangerous. The ability to tolerate malarial plasmodia (human parasites) is what these insects are dangerous. On the territory of our country, representatives of this species are found in the middle lane.

The description of insects is in many ways similar to ordinary squeaks. If you look closely at the photograph, then Anopheles adults can be recognized by an elongated elongated body, a relatively small head and a long proboscis. On the wings along the veins there are scaly plates.

On a note!

A distinctive feature of this type of insect is a pair of long antennae, which are located near the oral apparatus. In addition, anopheles have longer hind limbs than squeaks. In females, there are articulated tentacles on the head, the length of which is comparable to the proboscis, while in representatives of kuleks they are much shorter.

The menu of females and males is also different: food for the former is blood, while the latter feed exclusively on plant juices. A female mosquito lays up to two hundred eggs on the surface of the water, where they develop for 2-3 days. At lower temperatures, the process may be delayed for 15-20 days. Dangerous bloodsuckers have the same developmental stages as ordinary mosquitoes (egg, larva, pupa, imago). Malaria mosquito bite it also feels no different from the attack of a familiar piskun.

Burning mosquito

Culiseta - the so-called burning mosquito in Latin, which can be a carrier of tularemia (a disease whose characteristic features are intoxication, fever, swollen lymph nodes).

The beige, slightly yellow mosquito grows to a length of 12 mm. It has thin legs with white rings on the bends of the lower leg and thigh, as well as dark spots on the wings. The males are distinguished by a long furry mustache and a relatively large proboscis with white blotches. Adults have spiracular setae. They prefer to live near forests.

Crane

It’s easy to guess by name what a mosquito centipede looks like. Caramors (Tipulidae) are gigantic in size. The "calling card" of insects are long legs. In length, red mosquitoes reach 6 cm, some individuals grow up to 10 cm.Moreover, centipedes can have a very colorful color: Tipulidae Siberian mosquitoes are distinguished by a red abdomen, Indian individuals have a black-orange hue, sometimes even an orange mosquito.

Crane prefer places with high humidity, settling in marshy areas or near forest thickets. Giants are not dangerous to humans, because they do not use blood for food. The diet of such insects contains exclusively plant juices and dew. However, a large accumulation of centipedes can cause serious damage to agricultural land. Moreover, karamor larvae are especially voracious, using delicate roots of young plantations as food.

A similar lifestyle is characteristic for mosquito bells, which are most often seen on the coast of Azov.