All Mosquitoes are not alike

   Jurassic Park taught us that mosquitoes have been around for 100 million years. In that time they have diversified into 3,000 species that are very different from one another. Instincts pre-program their life's behavior, and these programs are constantly refined by evolution. They have successfully adapted to climates from the arctic to the equator and developed means of locating indigenous bloodhosts in each locale: some mosquitoes prefer frogs, others mammals, still others birds. No product, including mosquito traps, foggers, pesticides, Citronella candle, smoking coils or DEET, works equally well on every species of mosquito.

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They carry many diseases

 Worldwide, mosquito-borne diseases kill more people than any other single factor. Mosquitoes can be carriers of malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever in humans. In the United States, mosquitoes spread several types of encephalitis. They also transmit heart worms to cats and dogs.

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The females thrive on blood

 Mosquitoes do not feed on blood. The female mosquito requires a blood meal for development of her eggs.

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They eat all sorts of things

 Mosquito adults feed on flower nectar, juices, and decaying matter for flight energy. The larvae are filter feeders of organic particulates.
The larval and pupal stages can be found in a variety of aquatic habitats including: discarded containers, tires, temporary woodland pools, tree and crab holes, salt marshes, and irrigation ditches.

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They have a poor eye-sight

 Mosquitoes don't see very well, but they zoom in like a heat-seeking missile. In the spherical arrangement of their compound eyes, blind spots separate each eye from the next one. As a result, they can't see you until they are 30 feet (10 meters) away. Even then, they have trouble distinguishing you from any object of similar size and shape: tree stump, 55-gallon drum, etc. When they are 10 feet (3 meters) away they use extremely sensitive thermal receptors on the tip of their antennae to locate blood near the surface of the skin. The range of these receptors increases threefold when the humidity is high. If you go into mosquito habitat such as forests or wetlands where mosquitoes can easily see you, protect yourself with a repellent such as DEET.

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They live long enough to create misery

 There are over 170 described species of mosquitoes from North America. Several species have been accidentally introduced from other parts of the world. The average life span of a female mosquito is 3 to 100 days. the male lives 10 to 20 days.

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People are not always their favorite target

   People are not the primary bloodhosts for mosquitoes, especially in temperate climates. There are few people near the Arctic Circle, for example, but millions and millions of mosquitoes. The major mosquito pests in the Southeast US seem to prefer the host-odor of small herbivorous (vegetarian) mammals, or birds. Mosquitoes that carry encephalitis seem to prefer avian (bird) bloodhosts. These mosquitoes bite people when they get the chance, but they are better at tracking the scent of animals that are most abundant in their habitat.

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A prolific species

 One female mosquito may lay 100 to 300 eggs at a time and may average 1,000 to 3,000 offsprings during her life span. Mosquitoes breed in standing water, so eliminating standing water on your property reduces your risk. Areas like rain gutters, tree holes, old buckets or tires with stagnant water are breeding sites. However, although you may have taken steps to clear your property, you are subject to the actions - or inaction - of your neighbors, not to mention wetland areas in your community

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They can't wait to start bugging us

 A mosquito develops from egg to adulthood in 4 to 7 days.

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They don't like to travel

 Most mosquitoes remain within a 1 mile radius of their breeding site.

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How do they find us?
Scent, Sight and Heat

 Mosquitoes locate bloodhosts by scent, sight and heat. From 100 feet away (30 meters) mosquitoes can smell your scent, especially the carbon dioxide (CO2) you exhale. Biting flies are even better; they can smell their prey from 300 feet (100 meters) away. Because CO2 is present in the atmosphere (plants take in CO2 and give off oxygen), mosquitoes respond to higher-than-normal concentrations, especially when the CO2 is mixed with host-odor. They follow your scent upwind, and can see you at a distance of about 30 feet (10 meters).