The mosquito mates within 48 hours of emergence from the pupa. The female only mates once in her lifetime, because she is able to store the sperm in sacs within her body and fertilise subsequent batches of eggs herself where between 30-350 eggs are laid in each batch, depending on the species. The length of the complete life cycle is very dependent on temperature and can range from 10 days to 6 months or longer in those species which overwinter as larvae.

Whilst the infected mosquito feeds, disease causing parasites are able to enter the host’s body via the saliva or mouthparts of the infected mosquitoes. Conversely an uninfected mosquito becomes infected when it feeds on a person carrying infective forms of the parasite. These develop within the mosquito until the insect becomes infective and can transmit the parasites to new hosts. The relationships between parasite, mosquito and host have evolved over many years and are often highly specific to the species involved.

Primarily a seasonal biting nuisance in cooler climates but in the tropics they can also be major vectors of disease. They can transmit many diseases to both humans and animals, examples of human disease transmission by mosquitoes:

Only a few species of mosquitoes are implicated as vectors of human diseases. It is those which utilise humans as their primary host and are also willing to enter houses in their pursuit of a blood meal which are the most important. Some species do not feed on humans at all but utilise other mammals, birds or even reptiles as their hosts. Statistics show that 270 million people are infected with malaria alone and of those up to two million will die annually. It is this that makes the mosquito the most dangerous creature in the world.