July Bug: The Annoying Mosquito

• Rhode Island is home to 46 different mosquito species!
  
  
• Repellent effectiveness varies by mosquito species, location, person, and from mosquito.
  
  
• Mosquitoes are attracted by perspiration, warmth, body odor, carbon dioxide, and light.
  
  
• Mosquito-Borne Diseases in RI include Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus (WNV). This year, to date in Rhode Island, no mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
  
  
• Mosquitoes bite more often at dawn and dusk, in the shade and at temperatures above 55 degrees.
  
  
• Only the female bites for the blood she needs to make eggs.

• The four stages of development are: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
  Mosquitos spend their larval and pupal stages in water.

• A single cup of standing water can produce hundreds of mosquitoes.
  
  
• Several days after ingesting the meal, a batch of up to 250 eggs is laid.
  
  
• Some species lay egg "rafts" on the water surface which hatch in two days.
  
  
• The larvae "wiggle" in the water for five days to several months, depending on several factors.Larvae then become the non-feeding pupal stage, which lasts for several days before adults emerge...and the biting begins.

These facts were gathered from RI DEM's website and Rutgers University.