Mosquito Quick Facts

• Adult mosquitoes can fly at up to 25 mph.
• Adult mosquitoes can manoeuvre up, down, sideways and backwards.
• Male mosquitoes can live from 10 to 60 days and females can live up to 5 months or more depending on predator pressures.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO) mosquitoes have killed between 100 and 300 million people in the 20th century.
• On average, one person dies every ten seconds as a result of a mosquito bite.
• An average mosquito bite takes about 1 millionth of a gallon of blood.

The most important difference between male and female however lies in what the proboscis is used for. The adult male uses its mouthparts to feed on flower nectar and juices. The female mouthparts however are used for piercing, cutting and sucking. Only the female mosquito sucks blood, which she needs to produce eggs.

From their irritating whine to their sting and itch of their bite, the mosquito is at the bottom of human kind's list of favorite creatures. As new information emerges about the diseases they carry, their growing resistance to insecticides, and their increasing numbers, the mosquito, once nothing more than a summer annoyance, is capturing headlines worldwide.

Until recently, pesticides were commonly used to combat mosquitoes. Improper use of pesticides can cause health problems, including eye, skin and throat irritation, muscle spasms and neurological disorders and even death. Long term exposure to some pesticides have been linked to certain types of cancers. Currently, research shows that mosquitoes are attracted to animals (including birds, dogs and humans).