Life Cycle

• Complete Metamorphosis - egg, larvae, pupae, adult
• All mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycle
• The female mosquito lays her eggs on the surface of water, the eggs hatch into larvae and go through several growth stages as larvae before they turn into pupae. After about 5-7 days, the adult mosquito emerges out of the water from the pupal casing
• When a mosquito feeds (takes a blood meal) the mosquito may transmit viruses or other pathogens that can lead to potentially severe illness
• Mosquito larvae occur in almost any stagnant water, like catch basins, street gutters, unkempt pools, all kinds of containers, cemetery vases and even in foul water such as septic tanks and dairy ponds
• In the Antelope Valley most mosquito breeding sites in are man-made, created by people when they over-water their lawns, neglect their swimming pools or keep items or containers in their yards that can hold water

Male vs. Female Mosquitoes

• Only female mosquitoes bite, because they need the nutrients in blood to produce their eggs
• Both male and female mosquitoes will drink nectar and fruit juices for nutrition
• Male mosquitoes have bushy antennae
• Males have longer palps
• Females are slightly bigger
• Females live longer