I really want the reader to have a good attitude towards the entire mosquito genus, which includes, among other things, the centipede mosquito. After all, out of thirty-two mosquito families, only four have blood-sucking species. They created such a bad name for mosquitoes.
Inhabitant of wet forest glades and marsh meadows, the centipede mosquito is only in appearance - a very frightening and large insect. But in reality, its food is exclusively nectar and decaying plant debris, so it has nothing to do with dangerous malarial and blood-sucking mosquito species.
Long-legs in former times in Russia were called caramors. Their Latin name is Tipulidae. These are insects belonging to the order of Diptera and the suborder of long-whiskers. Most often, this is a huge mosquito up to forty millimeters in size, but in nature there are many weevils, medium in size, and they all have long legs. Depending on the habitat, the centipede mosquito can have a grayish, yellowish-green, brownish color. Fromone and a half thousand species of these insects in Russia and the CIS countries there are four hundred species of them.
High humidity is the main condition for the development of these insects. Adults lay their eggs in mossy soil or wood, sometimes directly into the water. The larvae have a swampy color, in tone with the habitat. Rotting plant residues, roots of forest and garden crops serve as food for them. The first stage of larval development takes place in the upper soil layer or in decayed tree stumps and branches, in the bottom of marshes and reservoirs with stagnant or running water. Being in a state of chrysalis, they are already moving, leaning against the ground with the spike they have in the head area.
Unlike the weevil, which is absolutely safe for people, the tropical mosquito is found in areas with a tropical climate, which can be deadly for people. One bite can be enough to kill you from malaria or fever. So, in our time, there have been epidemics in African countries that claim from one and a half to two and a half million people. It should be noted that malarial mosquitoes get along well with the causative agents of these diseases, therefore, having sucked on infected blood, the mosquito will transmit the disease to a he althy person only after a week. During this time, the pathogens in it mature, go through the preparatory stage, and then, when they bite another victim, they infect it.
For mosquitoes, high humidity is the most important condition for good development. They are very goodbreed right in the water. Worm-like larvae emerge from the eggs laid in the water. They turn upside down in the water, clinging to the surface water film with their tail, and breathe it. Feeling danger or some kind of unrest on the water, the larvae and pupae easily dive to the bottom, feel good there and develop for two weeks before growing up.
The centipede mosquito does not live long. His female will die in two months, and the mosquito itself will die much earlier.
