MOSQUITOES ARE ONE OF THE STRANGEST INSECTS YOU WILL COME IN CONTACT WITH

Millions of years ago these little bugs were three times as big as they are today. Their eyes occupy most of the surface of its head which are compound-lensed-organs delivering infrared images of heating patterns that may come from you in the dark. They also use your exhaled breath to track you down. In an average year millions of people in Africa will die from a mosquito-transmitted disease such as malaria. The disease they cannot transmit is HIV, as infected humans have very few of these virus particles in their bloodstream.

The little devils actually do not bite anyone, They insert their needle-sharp probe into your skin and suck. Once one of these feeding mosquitoes is full of your blood, a chemical signal will shut down the intake. Researchers have examined them in the lab and found that their ears are packed with just about the same number of sensory cells as human ears. It has been estimated that it would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking on you once, to completely drain you of your blood supply.

There are between 2,500 and 3,000 varieties of mosquitoes that we know of. Most are found active between dawn and dusk. There are some, however, that are out during the day. Male mosquitoes are actually sensitive vegetarians who live on nectar and plant juices. It is just the female of the breed that are after our blood for protein to make eggs. They mate in midair in as little as 15 seconds. The fertilized eggs are deposited in water and allowed to hatch. Each breed will only mate with their own.

The United States USAID program has distributed millions of mosquito nets throughout Africa and in the process have save millions of lives in recent years. This is one of the most successful programs ever tried by the agency.