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We are excited that you stopped by! 

The goal of this blog is to educate you on all things mosquito science.  Entomologist, Daniel DeBord will share his knowledge and love of entomology with you and feel free to take what you have learned, and share it with family and friends. 

Blog Entry 1 

August 7, 2024

DRY SUMMER- ANGRY MOSQUITOES

Have you ever wondered why, even during a dry Summer, the smallest rain shower can bring swarms of aggressively biting mosquitoes mere DAYS later? It’s all thanks to the incredible, not-so-edible, mosquito egg.    

                   While there are a wide variety of different mosquito species out there, they can be bunched together in groups called “genus”. Within these groups, related species share common traits such as preferred habitats, biting times, and egg laying methods. If you’re running into aggressively biting mosquitoes in the daytime, days after a rain event, you’re most likely dealing with two main genus groups: Aedes, and Psorophora. But what do mosquito eggs have to do with anything? Why, everything dear reader, everything.

Aedes and Psorophora mosquitoes lay their eggs on dry surfaces with the anticipation of flooding events. Some species, such as Aedes albopictus, lay their eggs on the side walls of manmade containers or tree holes. But most other species of both Aedes and Psorophora lay their eggs on grassy areas, leafy debris, or even dirt with high humidity, indicating that this is a region that can flood easily. This is how these species always operate, so what difference does it make if the Summer is dry? Stress!

 You see, mosquito eggs really are incredible in the fact that they can stay dry and not hatch for YEARS. However, these eggs have a sort of “stress threshold” built in. Under normal circumstances, mosquito eggs hatch at a gradual pace, progressing through 4 larval stages and a pupal stage before emerging as adults. BUT when exposed to drier environments for extended periods of time, they start to degrade, and less eggs remain viable. When these stressed eggs are finally exposed to water, the larvae burst out very quickly, and grow much faster than normal. It’s as though the larvae know that, given the previously dry conditions, this water isn’t likely to last long. The result of this phenomenon is a sudden, and often unexpected, wave of blood-thirsty mosquitoes. But take heart reader! The vast majority of these particular species are not carriers of mosquito-borne illness.

  Your local Mosquito Entomologist,

       -Daniel