Our associative thinking at the word “mosquito” immediately draws a picture of an annoying, buzzing and biting insect. There is probably no person on the planet who has not encountered, or does not know, this blood-sucking creature. In wildlife, there are more than 3,600 species of mosquitoes, and one species is even endemic to Antarctica. Let’s take a break from the troubles brought by these insects and present beautiful photos of mosquitoes in their natural habitat.
The most beautiful mosquito pictures:
1
Common Mosquito / Culex pipiens
Simple can also be beautiful, so our most common mosquito on the planet opens our photo gallery on most-beauty.ru. Also known by the name Piskun. The head is equipped with antennae, with which the insect is oriented.
It grows no more than 7 mm, and varieties of this species are found in different corners of the planet. The bites are quite painful and cause irritation. Known to mankind since ancient times, but was first described and introduced into the scientific classification in 1758.
By the way, do not miss an interesting article on our site about the most unusual insects.
2
Basement mosquito / Culex pipiens molestus
It turns out that in nature there is such an urbanized look. It’s easy to guess by name. That these creatures live in the basements of urban residential and administrative buildings.
For life, they need moisture, and in the basement there is plenty of it. It spread everywhere, and rather painfully bite. Note that only females bite the heat of blood to warm their eggs.
3
Caramors / Tipulidae
The largest of the large family of mosquito karamora is also called mosquito-centipedes. Adult individuals grow up to 10 cm, and the wingspan in mosquitoes of centipedes reaches 11 cm in some species.
The legs are long, according to which they are easy to distinguish from other species. They live near fresh water bodies and along river banks. They feed on nectar of flowers, or do not eat at all. But the larvae, eating the leaves of plants, can cause serious harm to agricultural crops.
4
Asian brindle / Aedes albopictus
The historical homeland of this insect is Southeast Asia, and then settled in other subtropical and tropical regions of the planet.
The female is slightly larger than the male, but their body structure is the same. The dark body is covered with white stripes, and the causative agents of malaria, typhoid, dengue fever may lurk on the tip of the sting.
5
Dergun / Chironomidae
Due to the characteristic sound made by these insects, they are also called bells. The sound comes from the frequent, up to 1,000 per second, wingspan. They are often greener than they resemble midges.
Larvae feed on microorganisms that live in water, but adults do not feed at all. They do not even have fully developed oral organs. In Berdyansk, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, the belfry was awarded his own monument.
6
Meadows / Limoniidae
These are the oldest of all the existing dipterans. Fingerprints are found in the Jurassic deposits of Europe, and in North America in the Upper Triassic.
Their wings are well developed, and the eyes, like most insects, have a facet structure. They do not drink blood, and larvae are laid in reservoirs. The family includes more than 150 genera that differ in structure and lifestyle.
7
Cranny festive / Ctenophora festiva
Separately, we present an enlarged photo of a beautiful view, found throughout Europe. Because of the unusual coloring of the body, they are also called Ktenofora decorated.
Its appearance and coloring resembles a wasp. The death of a rare species is associated with deforestation. Old forests are their natural habitat, and Ktenofora is difficult to adapt to urban conditions. In Russia they are in the Red Book.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the most beautiful weevils in the world.
8
Hot / Culiseta
In appearance, this type of mosquito resembles a fly. They have developed spiracular setae, which are clearly visible to the naked eye.
Females from males are distinguished by slightly larger sizes. The larva develops in temporary small reservoirs that form in cities after rains.
9
Toxorhynchites
The genus belongs to the bloodsucking family, but interestingly, the blood does not drink. Adults feed on nectar, the juice of rotten fruits.
Larvae eat the larvae of other insects, since they need a large amount of protein for development. Cases of cannibalism among the larvae of this unusual species were also noted in nature.
10
Pussies / Empididae
The scientific name of this species is empidida, and they belong to the subspecies of the Short-billed. This "mosquito" is a predator, and catches other insects on the fly.
They have a proboscis with which they directly suck out the caught victim. The body is small, but the legs are long in relation to the size of the insect itself.
11
Mosquitoes / Phlebotominae
We will make a reservation that mosquitoes belong to the family of mosquitoes, although they look like mosquitoes. They live most often in the tropics and subtropical regions.
Very small insect, not exceeding 2.5 mm. They appeared on the planet presumably in the Cretaceous period, and were first scientifically described in 1681 by the Italian zoologist Filippo Bonanni.
12
Winter mosquitoes / Trichoceridae
It turns out that there are winter species, but they are found in early spring and late autumn. Some subspecies can be active in the winter.
Males on sunny days gather in a huge swarm. Such buzzing clouds are impressive, and sometimes scary. They live in taiga forests, and tourists say they often saw these amazing insects in caves.
13
Belgica antarctica
This species belongs to the belfry, but unlike the relatives they have no wings. This is the endemic of Antarctica, and the only animal on the White Continent that never leaves the land surface.
They discovered an amazing and unusual look in 1900. Grow up to 3.2 mm in length. The life cycle of development is about one year. Winters larva and pupa. The larva develops among moss, in crevices, among the roots of plants. You can even find them on the body of penguins.
14
Malaria mosquitoes / Anopheles
To complete the list of dipterous insects, which are carriers of malarial plasmodia. They live everywhere, except for waterless deserts, Antarctica and the white silence of the Far North.
Malaria mosquitoes are often confused with centipedes. But centipedes drink plant nectar and are all harmless to humans, unlike dangerous little brethren. Interestingly, such small creatures also have teeth, but they can only be examined under a microscope.
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Summary
In conclusion, we recall that mosquitoes are carriers of dangerous diseases. Care must be taken when visiting countries where a large number of these biting insects are observed. But be that as it may, in 1984 in the Canadian town of Komarno a mosquito was erected a monument. The wingspan of an insect cast in steel is 5 meters.
Below we will post some more beautiful photos of mosquitoes:
This concludes our article. The editors of most-beauty.ru are waiting for your comments!