Fast Facts for Kids
Mosquito Facts for Kids

Mosquito Facts for Kids

  • Common Name: Mosquito
  • Class: Insecta
  • Family: Culicidae
  • Species: ~3,600
  • Diet: Hematophagous
  • Habitat Range: Worldwide (Except Antarctica)
  • First Appeared: ~99 million years ago

17 Mosquito Facts For Kids

  1. Mosquito is the common name for a small flying insect species that is a member of the Culicidae family.
  2. Mosquitoes are well-known for being a nuisance pest that feeds off the blood of humans and transmits pathogens.
  3. There have been more than 3,600 species of mosquitoes discovered and described by scientists.
  4. Mosquito species can be found worldwide, apart from Antarctica, where the is a temperate or tropical climate.
  5. Fossil records of mosquitoes have been found going 99 million years ago (Late Cretaceous Period).
  6. Mosquitoes have a segmented body, wings, legs, and an elongated mouth.
  7. Not all mosquito species drink blood, but thousands of species exclusively feed on blood.
  8. Female mosquitoes are the one who feed on blood, male mosquitoes feed on pollen and nectar.
  9. Humans aren’t the only host that mosquitoes feed from, others include amphibians, birds, reptiles, and other mammals.
  10. The black-tailed mosquito’s (Culiseta melanura) primary host is birds.
  11. The yellow fever mosquito’s (Aedes aegypti) primary host is humans.
  12. The mosquito has four stages through its life cycle, which are egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
  13. The first three stages of a mosquito’s life are spent entirely underwater.
  14. The most common result of a mosquito bite is a raised bump that is itchy due to the release of histamines.
  15. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal to humans, killing around 700,000 people annually by transmitting pathogens.
  16. Mosquitoes transmit pathogens via their salvia to humans when they bite them.
  17. Some of the pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes are malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile and Zika.

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Mosquito Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on mosquitoes. Below are three various pictures of mosquitoes. These pictures should help you better understand mosquitoes, the deadliest insect in the world.

Mosquito Drinking Human Blood

A picture of a mosquito drinking human blood.

A Collection of Mosquito Eggs

A picture of a collection of mosquito eggs.

Mosquito Larvae Underwater

A picture of mosquito larvae underwater.

Mosquito Resources

We hope you found the above mosquito facts, information, data, and pictures both fun and educational. You can continue to research mosquitoes using one of the below additional resources. They were chosen for their credibility and accuracy; you can trust their information when it comes to mosquitoes. Thank you for choosing Fast Facts for Kids.