How Do Mosquitoes Get Full of Blood?

Unlike vertebrates, insects do not have pain receptors. Instead, they sense irritation, or damage. Some species transmit chemicals that reduce inflammation in the host.

Scientists have been trying to figure out how mosquitoes bite for decades. One recent study showed that mosquitoes pierce through the skin with a labrum, which is a hypodermic-style needle.

It turns out that this is just one part of the insect’s feeding mechanism. Another part, the proboscis, is long and elongated and uses tiny teeth to pierce the skin.

There are 47 sharp daggers in the insect’s proboscis. While they are hard to see, they are very sharp. This helps them pierce the skin, but it also makes dissecting them a challenge.

Another part of the feeding system is the hemolymph, which functions much like blood. It carries nutrients to the embryo and is also important for egg formation. The female mosquito needs this to lay eggs. It also produces a substance called an anticoagulant to keep the blood flowing.

The female mosquito’s proboscis also has a serrated side that it uses to pierce the skin. It is so sharp you may barely feel it. It also has a labium, which is a lip-like sheath that stays outside when the mosquito pierces the skin.

The most impressive thing about the female mosquito’s feeding apparatus is that it can drink three times its weight in blood! That’s about 2 milligrams of blood, which is the same amount that a human woman could suck in a minute.

Continue reading:

Can Mosquitoes Travel in Luggage? How Do Mosquitoes Reproduce Asexually? Can Mosquitoes Paralyze You? How Can We Get Rid of Mosquitoes? What Material Can Mosquitoes Not Bite Through? Can Mosquitoes Lay Eggs in Salt Water? Can Mosquitoes Bite You Through Jeans? How to Prevent Mosquitoes From Infesting Your House