About mosquitoes

Some people, I have noticed, barely seeing in everyday life is not some sort of biting insects - cockroaches, flies, bug, innocuous termobiyu in the bathroom, and finally - seek immediately grab slippers or a newspaper there and destroy. I deeply such acts repugnant. Not that I was so fiercely frantically kind to all creatures of the earth - just the sight of an insect, mangled overpressure in the midst tapkovogo strike, and just a puddle on the wallpaper hemolymph me personally more unpleasant than a live view of a running creature.

And I try not to put pressure on myself mosquitoes in the woods (although absolutely no victims here, of course, can not do, in war as in war), but for a different reason - once a dozen, but at least would have a hundred victims of any serious damage itchy population around bloodsuckers will not cause, but fresh-crushed smell from the mosquito, it is attractive to his people (more precisely, spolemennits) and get them to the place from afar flied death of his kinsman with triple appetite. That is logical - if somewhere there is a squashed, so there is likely to be davitel and filled with fresh blood.

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Such is the little secret. If you follow my recommendation, that mosquitoes prefer your companions, smeared own them mosquitoes, the less fortunate brothers and frantically waving his hands - except the bodies of their relatives, squeaky bloodsuckers react to the smell of sweat flying to its source in the lee of times from a distance of 3 km. Sweaty smell help them evening breezes blowing from dry upland places preferred by people with reservoirs to the lowlands, where the mosquito is the main camp. The most intense flight of mosquitoes comes at a time from about 20 to 22 pm and from 4 to 6 am, plus or minus half an hour.



Smell komarihi feel mustache - there are special cilia, but they taste buds mostly on the legs. It is best to feel the taste of the front legs of a mosquito - where sensory hairs more than even on the proboscis. The average slightly less sensitive, rear, almost bald, there are only a few hairs of taste. Clearly just a mosquito feels the taste of blood and sweat, more precisely, they contain amino acids - lysine, alanine, histidine - and lactic acid.

The male mosquito ears not only smell, but also hear. This was first discovered in 1878 by an American engineer Hiram Maxim - the same, but then he was involved in the installation of electrical lights near the hotel Grand Union in New York and noticed that around transformers ever crowd swarming mosquitoes. Was not only an engineer - it is not enough that determined that the transformers are interested in completely male (to distinguish them it is easy on the fluffy hussar mustache, mosquitoes mustache too shabby), and only when the transformer hums, but also picked up the fork and learned to command a swarm of baleen Piskunov without transformer. Bezus same magic fork did not respond, and Hiram made the assumption that the mosquitoes react to the sound of it is through the whiskers entering into resonance with the sound vibrations of a certain frequency, and a tuning fork and a transformer just sound at a frequency of wings mosquito females. The then raised entomologists geeks laugh at, and editors of scientific journals considered lower self-esteem to publish such a primitive experiments and conclusions. Maxim strong offense, and five years later invented his famous machine gun, and another sixty-five years old when epidemiologists have come to grips with the study of malaria vectors, its conclusions are exactly confirmed.



Later more ingenious experiments told that his mustache shaking to the beat of the wings of females only of its kind, and only mature - young females squeak slightly different timbre. Komariha different species and ages flaps its wings 300 to 600 times per second, and therefore their voice is thin (for comparison: bumblebee - 123-233, wasp -165-274 strokes per second). Extremely champions in this respect are considered to mosquitoes Dergunov or chironomids - those aggressive that clear evening swarms of jostling in the air - and opposite - biting midges, the most filthy component midges, fills in all the folds of clothing, in the nose and ears that do not give open your eyes ... And they both make up to 1000 strokes per second.

Incidentally, there is a sign that the swarming chironomids to rain. She came, apparently, from the arid steppe zone and due to the fact that the female after swarming have to find water to lay their eggs, so in our area a sign does not work - the water in the forest area is usually full. After mating, but before egg laying female advisable to drink blood (though not necessarily - komariha, which have not given suck, too, lay eggs, although their number is much smaller).

Mosquito device for sucking - a seemingly simple proboscis - a member of the upper lip, the two upper jaw, two lower jaws, podglotochnika and lower lips. All this together several times the length of the head. The upper lip is rolled into a tube through which the blood flows into the throat. The tube does not sink without elastic chitinous jaws, serrated at the front end. They tightly but movably connected to the upper lip of a viscous fluid gland inner surface of the lower lip. The lower lip is the gutter where, as in the case, invested "thorn" mosquito. It does not penetrate into the wound, and, curving in an arc precisely directs the jaw to the blood vessels of the victim mosquito keeps them together during bloodsucking and straightened, pull them back after the meal.

SH - upper lip rf - upper jaw, g - head ng - lower lip, bass - the lower jaw, etc. - podglotochnik have - mustache, x - a set of piercing parts of the proboscis, ni - palp. Right at the bottom - the tip of the proboscis at a magnification of 200x.



The lower jaw, alternately working and plying his teeth, actively introduced into the skin of the "donor", leading the rest of the beam - upper lip, upper jaw and podglotochnik. From podglotochnika - unpaired outgrowth of the bottom wall of the pharynx - the wound gets saliva, performs a dual function. First, it expands the blood vessels around the site of the bite, thereby increasing blood flow. Secondly, prevents blood clotting, so that she can not plug the tube of the upper lip. Specific pressure mosquito proboscis skin exceeds that boxcar on the rails. To achieve it, a mosquito clinging to the front legs - if they tear, puncture the skin, it can not.



If komariha not to interfere, she drink the blood 5-7 times its own weight. The abdomen is inflated her, she barely takes off to find a quiet place to digest food. Only a tiny portion of food is to maintain the life of the insect, the bulk of the blood proteins week turns to 120-350 eggs. Putting on the waterfront - certainly in the evening, after sunset - eggs, female mosquitoes become a vegetarian to a second mating. Third marriage, they almost never - summer komariha lives only two months (if you're lucky). Eggs also drift on the surface of the pond (or wait for rain on the beach - depending on the type of mosquito) a few days.



The larvae of biting mosquitoes usually hang in the water under the surface, holding out the breathing tube, and at danger, curving, go to depth. In the rich food reservoir accumulates 4,000 larvae per liter of water - and this is the first great use of the mosquitoes (and indeed midges): bloodsucking larva trash - an indispensable food for fish fry and other aquatic creatures. Some aquarists claim that the fish fed on "devils" are unusually bright color, which indicates that their well-being.



The larvae are hairy. Hairs - a paddle, and at the same time sensitive receivers of external signals, and two magnificent bundle on his head - a device for feeding larvae of waves at a speed of 200 strokes per minute, and steered to the mouth water with food: the remains of plants and small animals, bacteria, protozoa, small algae, rotifers, spores and pollen. In addition, they can scrape food from the larvae of aquatic plants is heavier than water, but hanging below the surface due to surface tension - as the water strider, but on the other side of the film. The structure of the mosquito larvae of different species to highly sophisticated and varied, they have an incredible mass of bodies and devices for life like a prompter or anal cheholchika eye.



After the fourth molt the larva turns into a pupa. Dolly fun! Similar to a comma with horns and did not eat because it does not have a mouth. The thickest part of the transparent comma shaped head and legs bloodsuckers, visible even eye future creations. Horn - a breathing tube, narrowed the base of which lead to the tracheal system. On the front of the abdomen is visible steam tree hairs with which the pupa is held at the surface of the film and perceive the slightest fluctuations in water surface. Whatever it may seem clumsy doll, yet it is very agile. Disturbed, she deftly dives, wagging his belly, the back end of which a pair of leaf-plate-fin. Unlike the larvae, pupae are lighter than water - chest cavity and the first abdominal segment it filled with air.



At full development mosquito spends 14-15 days, when the water temperature is not lower than + 24 ° - + 27 °. Fecal sewage and leaking water and heating systems in urban cellars in the sense of temperature is quite fit, but only for the usual crap and chemistry of urban mosquitoes - their larvae develop normally in a cocktail party in which their forest brothers of the same species would move the horses in a few minutes . In recent years, with the advent of the counters and condominiums cellars in most homes have become drier - and mosquitoes in apartments significantly reduced.



Finally pupa straightened, burst in the area of ​​the back, and get out of them colorless soft-bodied creatures. Abdomen they filled with air - insects advance swallowed it so as not to drown. While newborn mosquito sits on his frail canoe, his body full swing biochemical processes; a few minutes covers painted and harden. You can fly to the people, and if a mosquito city, bring them a reasonable, good, eternal everything what he from childhood absorbed, sidyuchi in the channel. Bites small urban komarishek heavily scratched and sore and acne in their place long run. Forest mosquitoes though larger (in nature grew, not hurt a child!), But the bite affectionate. In both cases, the main rule - do not scratch! Advise anoint vodka, ammonia, garlic, onion juice, milk dandelion, soda solution, "Golden Star", to make mashed leaves of bird cherry, mint, citrus juice, cologne ... and so on. The main thing is not to scratch.



To bow and dandelions showed all his strength, you need to pull out the stinger from the skin plunged. Bee just pull, but the extraction of tiny mosquito proboscis - the enterprise for virtuosos, especially if you are in the tundra. In Evenkia five minutes on the forearm 400 people sit down mosquitoes, deer just dig in 8500 future mothers, and over every hectare flying times of up to five kilograms of gray bloodsuckers. Horror. But it's how you look. Biological cycling of matter in the cold tundra lazy, slow. Mosquitoes also for some weeks returned to the watershed chemical elements that the water dragged down, and it's the second great advantage of midges. On the tiny wings with each hundred hectares of marsh flies two pounds per year of carbon, nitrogen pud, nine kilograms of phosphorus, six - calcium, half - silicon. Travel and trace elements molybdenum, manganese, boron ... In other words, on the land for centuries flies food for plants.



Flies and food for birds. It is for the clouds of midges every spring fly thousands of kilometers to the north fledge swifts, swallows, flycatchers and many other migratory insectivorous birds - here's a third benefit. In a French park, that mosquitoes are not so plagued travelers, we put containers with a special liquid, and the mosquitoes are gone. After a short time in the park a huge number of caterpillars and other pests that destroy crops. It turned out the mosquitoes are attracted insectivorous birds, which regulate the number of harmful insects. An ecological approach to solving the problems in Europe at the height, they did not go the way of the use of poisons and a further injection of useless struggle. Just removed the barrel, and everything fell into place - the mosquitoes began to fly, the birds sang, and the tracks are gone ...



From birds of mosquitoes has elegant shelter - flowers. There for nekusachih mosquito males and tasted blood mosquito maidens ready and the table, and warm shelter. Warm flying troops in flower can because concave petals shiny as mirrors to direct the sun's rays pestle to quickly tied seeds. Inside the flower a few degrees warmer than outside. Stained flower pollen, the enemy becomes an ally - pollinating plants. In the tundra and northern taiga about it can not be forgotten - and bumble bees there sparsely. And fourth is the use of midges.



End.
One might, on reflection, to find, and the fifth and sixth, but already it is clear that the total destruction of bloodsuckers will cause no seasonable vozdusey and environmental catastrophe. Yet to call them friends language somehow does not turn. And habits of the enemy and his weaknesses to know. So, stop mosquitoes to attack in the heat of + 28 °. Grace is for them - a 16 ° and a relative humidity of 80-90%. In dry air aching squadron will not last long - lose water. He does not like the enemy and high-altitude flights. This long been used in malarial parts - built to sleep eight-meter tower. I can not explain why, but not annoying mosquitoes during an overnight stay in the karst caves - and shallow, sometimes enough to be just under the rock shelter. I do not like mosquitoes and volatile ... but cedar and pine forests grottos can be found not everywhere.
With regard to personal protective equipment, the modern insect repellents and insecticides are quite effective. If you find yourself in nature, nothing in this sense Zatar and nosed overcome - poshar'te around for a plant with a strong flavor such as mint, sage, celery, sweet, etc. Mash the beam more impressive and rubbed the exposed parts of the body, it is possible for some time to feel relaxed. However, the trick is effective against mosquitoes ... but more serious representatives of midges - the next time.



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