World Mosquito Day

On hot summer nights, there is an irresistible desire to go outside to freshen up and clear your head, or spend time on the banks of a river, which gives off a cool feeling, but that was not the case As soon as a person leaves the safety walls of the house, dozens of little “vampires” attack him Their annoying squeak causes irritation, their bites itch terribly, which is why few people like mosquitoes themselves However, even such an insect, harmful in every sense, has its own holiday August 20 is World Mosquito Day With the onset of summer, hordes of blood-sucking insects are activated, for which humans become a desired target If you find a tick on yourself or become a delicacy for gadflies, fleas, horseflies, mainly summer residents and lovers of hiking in impenetrable forest thickets, then mosquitoes will find you everywhere Even in a city apartment they will get their prey if you have not prudently placed a protective net on the windows It is enough just to turn off the light and plunge into silence, which will be broken by a thin squeak, and then it’s a matter of little things - the mosquito will swoop down on its victim and will draw blood from it under the cover of darkness, like a real book villain If a person sleeps, then by the morning, he risks waking up with a scattering of reddened bites In fact, only female mosquitoes are thirsty for blood Males never go out to hunt humans Blood is not even their main source of food Most little vampires feed on plant nectar, like butterflies, but females, alas, cannot reproduce without human blood For them it is a nutritious "soup" Blood plasma and red blood cells contain proteins that are digested by the insect's digestive system to form amino acids, which the body uses as building blocks to create its own egg proteins Scientists have long tried to figure out why mosquitoes show a clear preference for some people and avoid others There are several reasons for this offensive selectivity Mosquitoes prefer to bite people with thin skin Elderly people are less likely to become their victims Little bloodsuckers are crazy about children and teenagers, who have the thinnest and most delicate skin - it is easier to pierce it to draw blood However, this factor is not a priority for mosquitoes, since they choose their prey by smell Insects like to bite obese people, people with a sweet tooth, and people with diabetes It turned out that they react not only to the smell of sweat, but also to estradiol and acetone, which in such people are released along with carbon dioxide when exhaling Mosquitoes prefer people with blood types I and II Scientists have not yet figured out the reason for such preferences Insects love certain types of perfumes and skin care products They are especially attracted to floral scents Perhaps you are bitten more often because you wear a perfume that is considered “tasty” among the mosquito fraternity Female mosquitoes can live for almost a month, but the lifespan of males is much shorter The insect makes that same annoying mosquito squeak due to the flapping of its wings In mosquitoes they are very thin and generally invisible in flight On average, an insect makes about 1000 strokes per second Mosquitoes colonized the planet long before humans appeared and have no plans to become extinct anytime soon Today there are more than 3,000 species According to statistics, bites from these insects are much more likely to result in human death than, for example, shark attacks Mosquitoes carry many dangerous diseases, the most famous of which is malaria Although to their credit, these insects occupy an important place in the ecosystem Little vampires, like bees, carry pollen They also become food for many species of birds, fish and frogs, and their larvae clean the water by feeding on detritus - dead organic matter that forms after tissue breaks down