Before I explain to you why mosquitoes drink blood, I want to introduce you to the general course of business. Perhaps some of you, dear readers, are still not in the know, but not all mosquitoes suck blood. Some of them regale themselves with nectar (for example, males), others prefer to suck juice from plants, and there are also species that do not eat at all (for example, centipedes)! Usually these "herbivorous" mosquitoes gather in the whole cluster of tens and even hundreds of thousands of individuals outside the city! They hustle in one place, making a piercing ring, attracting females … A mating period is expected. But about this some other time. Now we are interested in why mosquitoes drink blood, which means that we will talk about females. They are the real vampires! It is they who do not give us rest during the day, nor, especially, at night!
Why do mosquitoes drink blood?
So, only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals. About males there can be no question! The "bloody menu" is caused not by the vagaries of females, but by necessity! The fact is that our blood is rich in various nutrients, the main one of which is protein. For males, carbohydrates contained in sweet floral nectars are of greatest interest. That is why we are indifferent to them!
The fact is that our protein is the building material that the female needs for the production and normal development of her eggs. After all, plant foods, as you know, are not rich in proteins. From the full consumption by the female mosquito of this "building material", the entire cycle of laying her eggs is directly dependent. The more protein a mosquito consumed, the better its masonry will be. That is why a female can suck out blood much more than her own weight (unless, of course, she is slammed).
Of course, one does not need to think that the only explanation for why mosquitoes drink blood lies in their ability to reproduce. In any case, the female will lay eggs, but if she does not pump the right amount of blood, then the heroine will die: she will give the eggs her own proteins at the cost of her life. However, if blood from the point of view of the food source is completely inaccessible to mosquitoes, they will simply die out!
How do mosquitoes drink blood?
This process takes them exactly three minutes. For females, it makes no difference who they bite - human or animal. Scientists have found that mosquitoes do not just pierce the skin with their sharp proboscis, injecting a special liquid in the blood that prevents it from clotting, but fully control it, looking for capillaries. Only after the desired capillary is found, the mosquito injects its saliva into it, which quite technically does not allow our blood to clot, and then begins to suck. By the way, that is why a mosquito bite itches a lot - the liquid causes irritation.
Why do mosquitoes die?
As a rule, at such moments we are absolutely not interested in why mosquitoes drink blood. Their saliva is their own enemy! No matter how paradoxical this may sound, but it is she who does not allow the insect to finish its work! When a mosquito drinks blood, then its saliva, introduced inside, causes itching, causing unpleasant sensations to a person … As a rule, the reaction should be immediate - we drive away the mosquito or even kill it.
As a result, the person remains with an itchy tumor, and the mosquito does not "have dinner", or even goes to the forefathers! Here is such an interesting "arithmetic", friends!
