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What do Male Mosquitoes Eat

Mosquitoes are small insects, they are flies of the order Diptera and form the family Culicidae. They evolved from other insects about 226 million years ago, fossils from primitive mosquitoes have been found to date back to over 90 million years ago, while fossilized mosquitoes that are similar to modern specimens are about 79 million years old, and fossils identical to modern mosquitoes have been found to be up to 46 million years old.

The female of most species are known to be ectoparasites, where the mouthpart known as proboscis, pierces the skin of the host in order to extract blood, which is necessary for reproduction. Hosts are very varied, they include mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and in some cases even fish. The loss of blood is very rarely of importance to the host.

When a mosquito “bites” the host, the saliva can cause itching and rash on the skin. Additionally, many species of mosquitoes are the known vector for diseases like dengue fever, zika, chikungunya, malaria, yellow fever and other viruses. Mosquitoes cause the death of around 700,000 people per year.

However, only female mosquitoes bite other living creatures, because they need protein to reproduce. Male mosquitoes have another diet.

What do male mosquitoes eat?

In general, both female and male mosquitoes feed mostly on nectar and plant juices. The plant materials are great sources of energy because they contain sugars.

In order for them to extract the fluids from fruits and plants, they need somewhat specialized mouthparts, however, they are not as complex as the female’s, since they don’t need to also feed off living hosts.

The nectars and sugary liquids the mosquitoes ingest are then stored in the abdomen. Different species tend to have individual preferences on the plants and fruits they feed from.

Distribution

Mosquitoes live in every land region with the exception of Antarctica and a few places with polar or subpolar climates. This is because the freezing conditions and low biodiversity in that environment prevents mosquitoes from reproducing and feeding themselves.

However, in warm and humid climates, like the tropical regions, some species are active for the entire year. In temperate and cold regions, they hibernate or go into what is called diapause. There are some species in the Arctic and subarctic regions that are able to reproduce for a few weeks of the year when permafrost melts enough to form water puddles.

Lifespan

The time needed to develop from the egg to an adult mosquito varies with species and also the climate temperature. Some only need five days, while other might take as long as forty days to become fully grown.

Male mosquitoes have a much shorter lifespan that the female mosquitoes. They live for about a week, while females can live for more than a month and in some species they can even hibernate during the cold months and then continue the population when sprig comes. This is the reason why females need more energy from sugar than males to live.