Facts about mosquitoes, midges and gnats

• It is only the female mosquito that bites and sucks blood. The females need extra protein to produce their eggs.
• There are over 3500 species of mosquitoes in the world! 37 species are found in the UK.
• The male mosquitoes hatch before the females and have a shorter lifespan (a few weeks, while the females can live up to 2 months).
• Both male and female mosquitoes need energy to fly which they receive from flower nectar.
• Mosquitoes are most active and hyper at dusk, although there are species which are active around the clock.
• Mosquito bites are allergic reactions to the saliva from the mosquito.
• A female mosquito can suck blood on more than one occasion during its lifespan.
• Mosquitoes are attracted to humans by several different methods including heat, carbon dioxide and various odoriferous substances (it is these factors that today's mosquito traps are trying to mimic artificially to attract mosquitoes and capture them).
• Mosquitoes, depending on the species, hibernate as eggs, larvae and adult individuals.
• Female mosquitoes almost exclusively use smell and taste signals to find and identify the appropriate blood hosts.
• Mosquitoes are more or less specialized and suck blood from cows, horses and humans.
• There are 300-400 scent signals produced by humans, but mosquitoes seem to only recognize a few of these.
• Mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycles: egg, larva, pupa, and adult (imago).

Explanation of the species Mosquitoes (Culicidae)

Mosquitoes (Culicidae) it is a subordinate to Two wings (Diptera). The most common genus in Europe are Anophelinae, Culex and Aedes. In northern Europe is the mosquito most an irritating insect not a carrier of virus and bacteria but some areas in the world the mosquito are carrier of dreadful diseases. About 30-40 species of the Anophelinae can transmit human malaria parasites (genus Plasmodium). Some spieces of the Aedes type can transmit the virus Yellow fever and Dengue fever. The West Nile virus can be transmitted by the Culex genus.

Gnats also called Black Fly (Simuliidae)

This fly-like little insect has a body that usually gets 2 to 6 millimetres long, a little thicker at the front and a short rumpe. The gnat can be incredibly disturbing for us humans and our animals. In addition, it is difficult to catch, we can recommend to use the highest stand for Predator Dynamic and lactic acid with octanol as a attractant to optimize the catch.

A mosquito has a trunk that it pierces through the skin to access the blood, a gnat has no trunk but bites a hole in the skin which then begin to bleed.

Midges (Ceratopogonidae)

It is easy to confuse midges with gnats, but they belong to a completely different family. The midge is considerably smaller and narrower, but above all can you see it on the three lines on the wings. The midge also flies higher than a mosquito and is attracted by lactic acid and octanol. Lactic acid is what is excreted if we physically exert ourselves and therefore the midge finds us easier. A midge also lacks a cord which instead bites through the skin to access the blood.