Mosquitoes
Name: Mosquitoes
Size: Small, under a half an inch.
Habitat: Since they need water to breed, then are generally found around sources of water. Treated pools or bodies of water with natural predators in them are generally not infested areas.
Prey: Mosquito larvae eat decaying matter and microorganisms in the water where they are born. As adults, after they emerge from the water, they will eat flower nectar. Females must have a meal of blood in order to reproduce.
Danger:
Arizona has over 40 different species of mosquitoes (AZ Coop. Ext.) and some of them carry serious diseases. West Nile Virus, Encephalitis and heartworm occur in Arizona and the mosquitoss that carry malaria exist in Arizona although they no longer carry the pathogen. Controlling mosquitoes is important to both your family and pets health and comfort. Any standing untreated water without natural predators can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Rain water that has collected in boats, flower pots, small depressions in the ground, in unused tires, on top of tarps or water that is not changed in backyard landscape features that include water, and pet or livestock water can serve as a mosquito breeding ground.
Some Links to information about mosquitoes:
- West Nile Virus, CDC.
- Mosquitoes, AZ Cooperative Extension
Photo Credits:
Mosquito - USDA Website (Public Domain).The information on this page was taken from Wikipedia under a GNU Free Documentation License unless otherwise noted.