Is the malarial mosquito really big?

The mosquito is one of the oldest creatures living on Earth. It is believed that they lived in the Cretaceous period. These insects live on all continents, except for Antarctica. Currently, science knows more than 3000 species of mosquitoes, which are divided into 38 genera. In Russia there are about a hundred species.

The malarial mosquito (Latin - Anopheles) in the scale of the planet is represented in more than 400 species, 10 of which can be found in the European part of Russia and in Western Siberia. Many species of these Diptera insects are spreaders of plasmodium - unicellular parasitic organisms that can cause malaria.

For some reason, it is believed that the malarial mosquito is large. In fact, it does not exceed 6-7 mm in length, and those who are so afraid of people - caramors (mosquito-leggings) - are completely harmless. Adult specimens of mosquito-leggings feed on nectar and are harmless to humans. Thus, large mosquitoes (malarial) are nonsense. To distinguish it from the usual, familiar to our gaze, a mosquito, it is necessary to know the basic features of the behavior of these bloodsucking insects.

A malarial mosquito is a great specialist in the world of smells. He does not need light to find his prey - for this the mosquito has very sensitive sensors located on the antennae. They are sensitive not only to thermal radiation, but also to metabolic products (for example, carbon dioxide, lactic acid, uric acid). Contained in the sweat of the smell of lactic acid mosquitoes feel at a distance of up to three kilometers.

In addition, the malarial mosquito is a great gourmet. He prefers to drink human blood first and second group. He also likes children's blood, and if you choose from men or women - he will prefer the blood of a fair sex.

By the way, only the female mosquitoes drink blood . They need it to lay eggs. Just one drop of blood is the source of life for several hundred mosquito eggs.

The female mosquito searches for its prey after mating to drink blood. During the process of digestion, the eggs are maturing simultaneously. For laying eggs, the mosquito chooses a shallow puddle, a pit filled with water, an open barrel, a trough, etc. It usually lays 120-150 eggs. The life cycle of a mosquito consists of four stages - from egg to adult (imago).

Egg develops from 40 hours to 8 days (depending on external conditions). The larvae hatched from the egg have a size of 1-2 mm. They feed on microorganisms that live in water. In this state, the mosquito molts four times, and after the fourth molt, a pupa is obtained from the larva. Pupa can move and swim. By the way, it swims even better than the larva. Two days later, a mosquito ready for flight emerges from the pupa. An adult lives from two weeks to two months.

The bite of a normal mosquito, in principle, is safe. Allergic reactions occur extremely rarely. As a rule, after a bite there are unpleasant sensations - itching, burning, on the site of a bite there is swelling and redness. Mosquitoes malarial are much more dangerous, because they are a carrier of malaria and a huge number of pathogens of many other infectious diseases.

Malaria is a very serious illness. Of course, most often it occurs in the tropics, but it can also occur in our climate. Usually, the disease is accompanied by fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and a host of other symptoms. Not infrequent and lethal outcome. Therefore, in the case of a malarial mosquito bite, the most correct thing is to immediately go to an infectious hospital. Procrastination is really death here.

Therefore, it is important to know what a malarial mosquito looks like. From ordinary mosquitoes malarial differ elongated legs and the presence of small spots on the wings. When planted on the victim's body, unlike a normal mosquito sitting parallel to the surface, the malarious keeps the abdomen and paws up.

The most reliable means, of course, is prevention. Before you go on a long journey to tropical or subtropical countries, you should prepare in advance. After all, the risk of becoming a victim of such a dangerous bloodsucker as a malarial mosquito is big. It is necessary to contact the infectious disease doctors to start taking appropriate medications in a timely manner. And the duty of any tour operator is to inform its clients about possible danger and necessary preventive measures.