About the mosquito

Mosquitoes are small insects, familiar to everyone as they attack man and other animals, and in most species the females feed upon blood. A few species appear to consume plant juices. The mouth-parts of the males are much reduced and the members of this sex seem unable to make punctures through which to obtain food. There are many kinds of mosquitoes but the larvae of all live in water and generally not in large ponds but in more or less stagnant water, and the most abundant species develop in temporary pools.

The adults have scales fringing their wings and also along the veins. The antennae of the males are plumage (feather-like) and very noticeable. The winter is passed as the egg, larva or adult, according to the species concerned. The eggs may be laid singly, in small clusters or in masses often called "rafts" on the surface of standing water or even on the ground, hatching in the latter case after rains or the melting of the snow in spring. The number of eggs laid by one insect varies in different species but probably averages several hundred. Read more in mosquito larva.