Mosquitoes are small insects that are a part of the Culicidae insect family. They are most commonly known for their consumption of human blood. However, the mosquitoes’ diets actually expands beyond their drinking of blood. In fact only certain mosquitoes enjoy and participate in the blood drinking process. Here is everything you need to know about what mosquitoes eat!
What do male mosquitoes eat:
Interestingly enough, male mosquitoes do not actually need to incorporate blood, human or otherwise, into their diet in order to survive.
Because of their bloodless diet, these male insects are not and never can be responsible for any diseases that are spread by mosquitoes. In addition to this, male mosquitoes actually gain most of their nutrients from nectar. They are especially keen on flower nectar.
What do female mosquitoes eat
Female mosquitoes are actually the only mosquitoes that feed on blood. This is because they need to consume it in order to successfully reproduce.
Blood is necessary for them because it has a certain type of protein that aids them in generating their eggs. Moreover, female mosquitoes are actually capable of drinking up to three times their weight in blood.
Most times they will even have a preference for who to feed on. They usually prefer to consume blood of a host that has more sweet smelling sweat.
Female mosquitoes are mostly drawn to human blood but they will also sometimes eat mosquito nectar. An interesting thing about the female’s feeding patterns is that they can actually keep their consumption of protein (blood) and sugar (nectar) completely separate from one another.
Do mosquitoes drink blood from animals as well as from humans:
Although female mosquitoes known to mostly prefer human blood they will occasionally also feed on the blood of certain species of animals. These species include birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians.
Why do mosquitoes drink blood in general:
Although there are certain varieties of mosquitoes out there, such as the tiger mosquito, most mosquitoes will actually only feed on blood as a last resort. They consume blood most frequently when readily access to nectar and other sugars that sustain their diet is not available to them.
That being said mosquitoes do also enjoy the large quantities of carbon dioxide that humans produce. They use this carbon dioxide emission to sense and find possible targets and humans emit more of it than most other animals and just creatures in general. Furthermore, due to our larger size in comparison to other animals mosquitoes feed on, like birds, we make much easier targets for them.
Can mosquitoes survive without feeding on blood:
All adult male mosquitoes can survive and thrive without feeding on blood as it is not a necessary part of their diet. On the other hand, female mosquitoes may sometimes need to consume blood in order to reproduce eggs properly.
That being said, there are certain varieties of female mosquitoes out there that actually prefer not to feed on blood whatsoever (just like males do). Instead, they have a diet that is similar to the male’s and consists only of plant nectars and other sugars.
Are mosquitoes dangerous:
Despite their miniscule size, mosquitoes are actually considered to be one of the if not the most dangerous animals in the world. This is because of how easily they carry and spread diseases through a wide variety of animals, including humans.
They can spread diseases because they actually insert their saliva into a person’s bloodstream when they’re feeding on them. This is because mosquitoes can actually pierce the skin, just like a needle would, and then proceed to inject their germ and possibly disease filled spit. This ability is what allows them to pass on things such as parasites and viruses.
Moreover, it has actually been said that through them spreading illnesses like malaria, yellow fever and lymphatic filariasis mosquitoes have actually killed and will proceed to kill more humans than any other seemingly large and dangerous animal in the world.
What do mosquitoes eat – final thoughts:
Overall, mosquitoes can be more commonly found drinking nectar than they can be drinking blood. That being said, their consumption of blood, no matter how frequent or rare, is capable of endangering both animals and humans with harmful and possibly even deadly bacterias and diseases.