Behaviour of Mosquitoes
- Mosquitoes use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odors and temperature, and movement to home in on their victims.
- Only female mosquitoes have the mouth parts necessary for sucking blood. When biting with their proboscis, they stab two tubes into the skin: one to inject an enzyme that inhibits blood clotting; the other to suck blood into their bodies.
- They use the blood not for their own nourishment but as a source of protein for their eggs. For food, both males and females eat nectar and other plant sugars.