Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biology of Mosquitoes

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mosquitoes

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

  • 1187 Accesses

Abstract

In the course of the evolutionary process for more than 100 millions of years, mosquitoes developed adaptation mechanisms to be capable of thriving in a variety of environments. There is hardly any aquatic habitat anywhere in the world that does not lend itself as a breeding site for mosquitoes. They colonise temporary and permanent, highly polluted as well as clean, large and small waterbodies, and even the smallest accumulations such as water-filled buckets, flower vases, tires, hoof prints or leaf axes are a potential source.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Andreadis TG (1990) Observations on installment egg hatching in the brown saltmarsh mosquito Aedes cantator. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 6(4):727–729

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barr AR (1958) The mosquitoes of Minnesota (Diptera: Culicidae). Univ Minn Agric Exp Stn Tech Bull 228:154

    Google Scholar 

  • Barr AR, Azawi A (1958) Notes on the oviposition and the hatching of eggs of Aedes and Psorophora mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae). Univ Kans Sci Bull

    Google Scholar 

  • Beach R (1978) The required day number and timely induction of diapause in geographic strains of the mosquito Aedes atropalpus. J Insect Physiol 24:448–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker N (1989) Life strategies of mosquitoes as an adaptation to their habitats. Bull Soc Vector Ecol 14(1):6–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker N, Ludwig HW (1981) Untersuchungen zur Faunistik und Ökologie der Stechmücken (Culicinae) und ihrer Pathogenen im Oberrheingebiet. Mitt dtsch Ges allg angew Ent 2:186–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker N, Pluskota B, Kaiser A, Schaffner F (2012) Exotic mosquitoes conquer the world. In: Mehlhorn H (ed) Parasitology research monographs 3. Springer, Berlin, pp 31–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellini R, Medici A, Puggioli A, Balestrino F, Carrieri M (2013) Pilot field trials with Aedes albopictus irradiated sterile males in Italian urban areas. J Med Entomol 50(2):317–325

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernáth B, Horváth G, Gál J, Fekete G, Meyer-Rochow VB (2008) Polarized light and oviposition site selection in the yellow fever mosquito: no evidence for positive polarotaxis in Aedes aegypti. Vision Res 48(13):1449–1145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bidlingmayer WL (1964) The effect of moonlight on the flight activity of mosquitoes. Ecol 45(1):87–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bidlingmayer WL (1975) Mosquito flight paths in relation to the environment. Effect of vertical and horizontal visual barriers. Ann Ent Soc Am 68:51–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bidlingmayer WL (1985) The measurement of adult mosquito population changes-some considerations. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1:328–347

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bidlingmayer WL, Evans DG (1987) The distribution of female mosquitoes about a flight barrier. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 3(3):369–377

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bogojevic SM, Merdic E, Bogdanovic T (2011) The flight distance of floodwater mosquitoes (Aedes vexans, Ochlerotatus sticticus and Ochlerotatus caspius) in Osijek, Eastern Croatia. Biologia 66(4):678–683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borg A, Horsfall WR (1953) Eggs of floodwater mosquitoes. II. Hatching stimulus. Ann Ent Soc Am 46:472–478

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bosak PJ, Crans W (2002) The structure and function of the larval siphon and spiracular apparatus of Coquillettidia perturbans. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 18(4):280–283

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen MF (1991) The sensory physiology of host-seeking behavior in mosquitoes. Ann Rev Entomol 36:139–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Briegel H, Kaiser C (1973) Life-span of mosquitoes (Culicidae, Diptera) under laboratory conditions. Gerontologia 19:240–249

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brust RA, Costello RA (1969) Mosquitoes of Manitoba. II. The effect of storage temperature and relative humidity on hatching of eggs of Aedes vexans and Aedes abserratus (Diptera: Culicidae). Can Ent 101:1285–1291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bueno R, Jiménez MR (2011) First confirmed record of Ochlerotatus mariae (Sergent & Sergent, 1903) in the Balearic Islands (Spain) and its significance in local mosquito control programmes. Eur Mosq Bull 29:82–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess L (1959) Techniques to give better hatches of the eggs of Aedes aegypti. Mosq News 19(4):256–259

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera M, Jaffe K (2007) An aggregation pheromone modulates lekking behaviour in the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). J Am Mosq Control Assoc 23(1):000–000

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke JL (1943a) Studies of the flight range of mosquitoes. J Eco Ent 36:121–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke JL (1943b) Preliminary progress report. Do male mosquitoes fly as far as females? Is the flight range of all mosquitoes the same? Mosq News 3:16–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Clements AN (1963) The physiology of mosquitoes. Pergamon Press, Oxford, p 395

    Google Scholar 

  • Clements AN (1992) The biology of mosquitoes. Development, nutrition and reproduction, vol 1. Chapman & Hall, London, p 509

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins B, Cortez R, Foppa IM, Walbeck J, Hyman JM (2012) A spatial model of mosquito host-seeking behaviour. PLoS Comput Biol 8(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002500

  • Dahl C, Widahl LE, Nilsson C (1988) Functional analysis of the suspension feeding system in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Ann Ent Soc Am 81:105–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danks HV, Kukal O, Ring RA (1994) Insect cold-hardiness: insights from the Arctic. Artic 47(4):391–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis EE, Sokolove PG (1975) Temperature response of the antennal receptors in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. J Comp Physiol 96:223–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dos Santos RLC, Forattini OP, Burattini MN (2002) Laboratory and field observations on duration of gonotrophic cycle of Anopheles albitarsis s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae) in southeastern Brazil. J Med Entomol 39:926–930

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fawaz EY, Allan SA, Bernier UR, Obenauer PJ, Diclaro JW II (2014) Swarming mechanisms in the yellow fever mosquito aggregation pheromones are involved in the mating behavior of Aedes aegypti. J Vector Ecol 39(2):347–354

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Salas I, Rodriguez MH, Roberts DR (1994) Gonotrophic cycle and survivorship of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Tapachula foothills of southern Mexico. J Med Entomol 31:340–347

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fillinger U, Sombroek H, Majambere S, van Loon E, Takken W, Lindsay SW (2009) Identifying the most productive breeding sites for malaria mosquitoes in The Gambia. Malar J 8:62. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-62

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Foster WA (1995) Mosquito sugar feeding and reproductive energetics. Annu Rev Entomol 40:443–474

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gillett JD (1955) Variation in the hatching-response of Aedes eggs. Bull Ent Res 46:241–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillett JD (1983) Abdominal pulses in newly emerged mosquitoes Aedes aegypti. Mosq News 43:359–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillies M (1972) Some aspects of mosquito behavior in relation to the transmission of parasites. Zool J Linn Soc Suppl 1(51):69–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillies MT (1980) The role of carbon dioxide in host-finding by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): a review. Bull Ent Res 70:525–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gjullin CM, Stage HH (1950) Studies on Aedes vexans (Meig) and Aedes sticticus (Meig), flood water mosquitoes, in the Lower Columbia River Valley. Ann Ent Soc Am 43:262–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gjullin CM, Hegarty CP, Bollen WB (1941) The necessity of a low oxygen concentration for the hatching of Aedes eggs (Diptera: Culicidae). J Cell Comp Physiol 17:193–202

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gubler DJ, Bhattacharya NC (1972) Swarming and mating of Aedes (S.) albopictus in nature. Mosq News 32(2):219–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Harwood RF, Horsfall WR (1959) Development. Structure and function of coverings of eggs of floodwater mosquitoes, III Functions of covering. Ann Ent Soc Am 52(2):113–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasinsi TA, Jayathilake DG, Wickramasinghe MB, de Silva NK (2015) Oviposition and vertical dispersal of Aedes mosquitoes in multiple storey buildings in Colombo district, Sri Lanka. J Vector Borne Dis 52:245–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawley WA (1988) The biology of Aedes albopictus. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1(Suppl 4):1–39

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawley WA, Pumpuni CB, Brady RH, Craig GB Jr (1989) Overwintering survival of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) eggs in Indiana. J Med Entomol 26(2):122–129

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hearle E (1926) The mosquitoes of the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia and their control. Nat Res Counc Can Rep 17:1–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Honório NA, Silva Wda C, Leite PJ, Goncalves JM, Lounibos LP, Lourenco de Oliveira R (2003) Dispersal of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in an urban endemic dengue area in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 98(2):191–198

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horsfall WR (1956a) A method for making a survey of floodwater mosquitoes. Mosq News 16(2):66–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsfall WR (1956b) Eggs of flood water mosquitoes. III. Conditioning and hatching of Aedes vexans. Ann Ent Soc Am 49:66–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horsfall WR, Fowler HW (1961) Eggs of flood water mosquitoes. VIII. Effect of serial temperatures on conditioning of eggs of Aedes stimulans Walker (Diptera: Culicidae). Ann Ent Soc Am 54:664–666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horsfall WR, Lum P, Henderson L (1958) Eggs of floodwater mosquitoes. V. Effect of oxygen on hatching of intact eggs. Ann Ent Soc Am:51

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsfall WR, Fowler HW, Moretti LJ, Larsen JR (1973) Bionomics and embryology of the inland flood water mosquito Aedes vexans. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL, p 211

    Google Scholar 

  • Ikeshoji T, Mulla MS (1970) Oviposition attractants for four species of mosquitoes in natural breeding waters. Ann Ent Soc Am 63(5):1322–1327

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs CG, Rezende GL, Lamers GEM, van der Zee M (2013) The extraembryonic serosa protects the insect egg against desiccation. Proc Biol Sci 280(1764):20131082. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1082

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Joslyn DJ, Fish D (1986) Adult dispersal of Ae. communis using Giemsa self-marking. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 2:89–90

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Judson CL (1960) The physiology of hatching of aedine mosquito eggs: hatching stimulus. Ann Ent Soc Am 53:688–691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kellogg FE (1970) Water vapour and carbon dioxide receptors in Aedes aegypti. J Insect Physiol 16:99–108

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler S, Vlimant M, Guerin PM (2015) Sugar-sensitive neurone responses and sugar feeding preferences influence lifespan and biting behaviours of the Afrotropical malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. J Comp Physiol A. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-015-0978-7

  • Lehane MJ (1991) Biology of blood-sucking insects. Harper Collins Academic, London, p 288

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Liu-Helmersson JL, Quam M, Wilder-Smith A, Stenlund H, Ebi K, MAssad E, Rocklöv J (2016) Climate change and Aedes vectors: 21st century projections for dengue transmission in Europe. EBioMed 7:267–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madon MB, Mulla MS, Shaw MW, Hazelrigg JE (2002) Introduction and establishment of Aedes albopictus in Southern California. J Vector Ecol 27(1):149–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnarelli LA (1979) Diurnal nectar-feeding of Aedes cantator and Ae. sollicitans (Diptera: Culicidae). Env Ent 8:949–955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHaffey DG (1972) Photoperiod and temperature influences on diapause in eggs of the floodwater mosquito Aedes vexans (Meigen) (Diptera: Culicidae). J Med Entomol 9(6):564–571

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McIver SB (1982) Sensilla of mosquitoes (Diptera:Culicidae). J Med Ent 19:489–535

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Minakawa N, Githure JI, Beier JC, Yan G (2001) Anopheline mosquito survival strategies during the dry period in western Kenya. J Med Ent 38:388–392

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohrig W (1969) Die Culiciden Deutschlands. Parasitol Schriftenreihe 18:260

    Google Scholar 

  • Murlis J (1986) The structure of odour plumes. In: Payne TL, Birch MC, Kennedy CEJ (eds) Mechanisms in insect olfaction. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Nayar JK, Sauerman DM (1975) The effects of nutrition on survival and fecundity in Florida mosquitoes. Part 2. Utilization of a blood meal for survival. J Med Entomol 12(1):99–103

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen LT (1957) Notes on the flight ranges of Rocky Mountain mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. Proc Utah Acad Arts Sci Lett 34:27–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Papathanos PA, Bossin HC, Bendict MQ, Catteruccia F, Malcolm CA, Alphey L, Crisanti A (2009) Sex separation strategies: past experience and new approaches. Malar J 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-S2-S5

  • Parker KR, Mant MJ (1979) Effects of tsetse salivary gland homogenate on coagulation and fibrinolysis. Thromb Haemost 42:743–751

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pluskota B, Jöst A, Augsten X, Stelzner L, Ferstl I, Becker N (2016) Successful overwintering of Aedes albopictus in Germany. Parasitol Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5078-2

  • Price GD, Smith N, Carlson DA (1979) The attraction of female mosquitoes (Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say) to stored human emanations in conjunction with adjusted levels of relative humidity, temperature and carbon dioxide. J Chem Ecol 5:383–395

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Provost MW (1953) Motives behind mosquito flight. Mosq News 13:106–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson GG (1939) The mouth parts and their function in the female mosquito, Anopheles maculipennis. Parasitology 31:212–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schäfer M, Storch V, Kaiser A, Beck M, Becker N (1997) Dispersal behavior of adult snow melt mosquitoes in the Upper Rhein Valley, Germany. J Vector Ecol 22(1):1–5

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CN, Smith N, Gouck HK, Weidhaas DH, Gilbert IH, Mayer MS, Smittle BJ, Hofbauer A (1970) L-lactic acid as a factor in the attraction of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) to human host. Ann Ent Soc Am 63:760–770

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SM, Kalpage KSP, Brust RA (2013) Reproductive biology of sub- and low-arctic mosquitoes of the genus Ochlerotatus (Diptera: Culicidae). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, published via Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.704842.v2

  • Strickman D (1980a) Stimuli affecting selection of oviposition sites by Aedes vexans: moisture. Mosq News 40:236–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Strickman D (1980b) Stimuli affecting selection of oviposition sites by Aedes vexans: conditioning of the soil. Mosq News 40:413–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Sudarić Bogojević M, Merdić E, Bogdanović T (2011) The flight distances of floodwater mosquitoes (Aedes vexans, Ochlerotatus sticticus and Ochlerotatus caspius) in Osijek, Eastern Croatia. Biologia 66(4):678–683

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutcliffe JF (1987) Distance orientation of biting flies to their hosts. Insect Sci Appl 8:611–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka K, Mizusawa K, Saugstad ES (1979) A revision of the adult and larval mosquitoes of Japan (including the Ryukyu Archipelago and the Ogasawara islands) and Korea (Diptera: Culicidae). Contr Am Ent Inst Ann Harbor 16:1–987

    Google Scholar 

  • Telford AD (1963) A consideration of diapause in Aedes nigromaculis and other aedine mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Ann Ent Soc Am 56(4):409–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tischler W (1979) Einführung in die Ökologie. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, NY, p 306

    Google Scholar 

  • Toma L, Severini F, Di Luca M, Bella A, Romi R (2003) Seasonal patterns of oviposition and egg hatching rate of Aedes albopictus in Rome. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 19:19–22

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Travis BV (1953) Laboratory studies on the hatching of marsh-mosquito eggs. Mosq News 13:190–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Weitzel T, Collado A, Jöst A, Pietsch K, Storch V, Becker N (2009) Genetic differentiation of populations within the Culex pipiens Complex and phylogeny of related species. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 25:6–17

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson GR, Horsfall WR (1970) Eggs of floodwater mosquitoes. XII. Installment hatching of Aedes vexans. Ann Ent Soc Am 63:1644–1647

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Norbert Becker

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Dušan Petrić & Marija Zgomba

  3. The Pest Management Consultancy, Haverhill, UK

    Clive Boase

  4. Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Minoo B. Madon

  5. Uppsala University EMA, Uppsala, Sweden

    Christine Dahl

  6. German Mosquito Control Association (KABS), Speyer, Germany

    Achim Kaiser

Authors
  1. Norbert Becker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dušan Petrić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marija Zgomba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Clive Boase
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Minoo B. Madon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Christine Dahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Achim Kaiser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Becker, N. et al. (2020). Biology of Mosquitoes. In: Mosquitoes. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11623-1_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation