The mosquitoes
are a family of small, midge-like flies: the Culicidae.
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.
Like all
flies, mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult
or imago. In most
species, adult females lay their eggs in stagnant water; some lay eggs near the
water's edge; others attach their eggs to aquatic plants. Each species selects
the situation of the water into which it lays its eggs and does so according to
its own ecological adaptations. Some are generalists and are not very fussy.
Some breed in lakes, some in temporary puddles. Some breed in marshes, some in
salt-marshes. Among those that breed in salt water, some are equally at home in
fresh and salt water up to about one third the concentration of seawater,
whereas others must acclimatise themselves to the saltiness.[13] Such
differences are important because certain ecological preferences keep
mosquitoes away from most humans, whereas other preferences bring them right
into houses at night.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar