Mosquito Facts for Kids

A Picture of a Mosquito
  • Common Name: Mosquito
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Diptera
  • Superfamily: Culicoidea
  • Family: Culicidae

15 Mosquito Facts for Kids

  1. Mosquitoes are a small, flying insect, with many species that feed on blood from a live host.
  2. Mosquito is Spanish for “little fly”.
  3. There are around 3,500 known mosquito species worldwide.
  4. Mosquitoes can be found on every continent, accept Antarctica and a few locations with subpolar and polar climates.
  5. Mosquitoes have four stages of life. They are an egg, larva, pupa and adult.
  6. Mosquito bites cause itching in humans. This occurs because the saliva of a mosquito is an anti-coagulant and gets transferred to you during a mosquito bite.
  7. Female mosquitoes are the only ones who feed on blood. Not all species of female mosquitoes feed on blood, both male and females may feed exclusively on aphid honeydew, nectar and plant juices.
  8. Female mosquitoes that do feed on blood prefer a specific host.
  9. Female mosquitoes that feed on blood locate their victims by the carbon dioxide, lactic acid and octenol they release.
  10. Mosquitoes are widely known to be vectors (ability to transfer disease) to many diseases.
  11. The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is known to transmit yellow fever and many other diseases to humans.
  12. Mosquitoes that are members of the Anopheles genus are known to transmit malaria.
  13. Some other diseases known to be transmitted by mosquitoes are the west nile virus, zika dengue fever, chikungunya and Lymphatic filariasis.
  14. Many methods are used to control mosquitoes and prevent the spread of diseases. The most common one is insect repellent. Some cities will drop insecticide pellets into sewer drains and remove used abandoned tires.
  15. It is estimated mosquitoes have killed more people than any other animal. Around 700,000 people die each year from mosquito borne-diseases. In fact, the most staggering fact is mosquitoes are responsible for the deaths of almost half the humans who have ever lived.

Resources for more Facts About Mosquitoes

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