Autobiography of a Mosquito
- By Mayank
Buzz… I am a female Anopheles mosquito and yes my genre of mosquito is responsible for causing Malaria. Today, as I roam around looking for some fresh blood, let me tell you about my life, my lifestyle, my likes, and my dislikes. Whether you like it or not, I will exercise my FREEDOM OF SPEECH and voice my opinions against you all today.
I know humans have termed us as the most dangerous animal on the planet as more deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other animal on the planet. Yes, our genus of mosquito is a carrier of various diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, west nile, filariasis, zika, and other arboviruses and we are the cause for death of more than a million people, mostly from poorer nations, in a single year. Wait, do not start hating us, we do not do this intentionally. We have to do it so that we can produce eggs and carry forward our race. There are some 3500 known species of mosquito out of which only 6% are carriers of these diseases, so most species prefer to consume their FRIDAY NIGHT COCKTAILS from other animals such as frogs and birds. So next time we buzz around, please treat us with some dignity.
Life Cycle and Slender Body
Our life cycle consists of four stages-egg, larva, pupa, and adult, generally, each of the stages lasts 5 to 14 days, depending on the species and the ambient temperature. All my bloodsucking cousins have potential adult lifespans ranging from as short as a week to as long as several months and we, females tend to live longer than the males. Our lifespans primarily depend on temperature, humidity, and our ability to successfully obtain a bloody meal while avoiding the lethal attack of our hosts and predators. During our early life, we undergo training in our MILITARY GUTTER CAMPS so that we can learn manoeuvresto escape from our hosts. The commando teachers demonstrate ways to speed up and make unpredictable moves to fool humans.
Our slender bodies have three segments: a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. We have three pairs of legs and a pair of wings which helps in our locomotion. Our abdomen is specialized in food digestion and egg development. Our abdomen can hold blood three times its own weight-thus we can claim to be more hardworking than you!
Only Females suck and Human Blood is not the only snack we have
By the way, only female mosquitos like me are fond of your blood. We have a similarity here with humans- Like female human homemakers are experts to manage their homes, we, female mosquitos have the expertise to do the job mosquitos are known for- we are specialized to suck. The female mosquitos have tube-like mouthparts (called a proboscis) which we use to pierce the skin and feed on the blood. This blood contains the protein and iron needed to produce eggs. Apart from humans, thousands of mosquito species feed on the blood of other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Some of our species might even taste a fish if they expose themselves above water level. Male mosquitoes are not bloodsuckers; they only drink sugary fluids and their mouthparts do not require a greater degree of specialization. When not trying to produce eggs, we, the females are happy to stick to sugary fluids, too.
We are host on this planet and NOT YOU
I have told you that only a small fraction of us prey on humans and it comes under our lifestyle. I fail to understand why humans get so disturbed when we follow the ecological rules of Mother Nature for survival. We are as old as the Dinosaurs, with evidence of these biting insects dating back to the Triassic Period-Around 226 million years ago! So from that point of view, we are the host on this planet and humans, who came very late, are the guests. Someday, we want to ANNOUNCE THIS ON A STAGE WITH MICROPHONES, like you all do, and convey to everyone that this planet is the home for all of us and we have been staying here a lot before you, period. We as a community fail to comprehend why humans are so paranoid about us and love every opportunity of swatting us.
There are interesting stories which humans discuss; the latest one came from the movie JURASSIC PARK. It was shown that human scientists were able to clone dinosaurs by extracting DNA from the bellies of mosquito fossils preserved in amber. If this wasn’t the limit of hilarity listen to this old story coming from Siberia.. The Siberians have an origin myth surrounding the mosquito – one Ostiak myth tells of a man-eating giant, Punegusse, who is killed by a hero but will not stay dead. The hero eventually burns the giant, but the ashes of the fire become mosquitos that continue to plague mankind. Honestly, we never spread such silly folklore as you do.
Diseases and our favorite regions to stay
My community consists of a few families of mosquito which are carriers of various diseases. Apart from me, Anopheles spreading malaria, there are other cousins of mine who spread other well-known diseases, for example-dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Malaria infects around 250 million humans each year worldwide and kills about one million, mostly children in Africa. Dengue virus infections are a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics. We are generally present in warm and humid tropical regions like in East Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India, but in temperate and cold regions, we hibernate or enter diapause. In all the warm and humid regions, we party and develop quickly in bird baths, roof gutters, old tires dumped in vacant lots, and puddles left after a rainstorm. An easy way by which you can distinguish me (Anopheles) from other mosquitos is by the way we sit- we make an angle of 45˚ to the surface of the ground. My close cousin, Aedes mosquitoes, which are the carriers of Zika, yellow fever, and dengue fever are the easiest to identify- They are black and have white patches on their body.
World Mosquito Day on 20th August and My Ancestors
Ok, let me not be very technical. You must be wondering where I got these details. Well, we travel to places on vehicles of humans, and a few days ago, I was in The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where they were discussing me, and steps to be taken to save mankind from us. To make humans aware of us, World Mosquito Day is celebrated every year on the 20th day of August. It also commemorates British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. I travel across various destinations primarily on sea routes where I inhabit on water-filled used tires and cut flowers. However, we have also been effectively carried by personal vehicles, delivery trucks, trains, and aircraft.
I have also heard this from my ancestors that they had lived to see India get freedom and that they had the blood of the freedom fighters in them, quite literally. My great grandmother was in close contact with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and since then we are inspired by his quote- ‘GIVE ME BLOOD, AND I SHALL GIVE YOU FREEDOM‘
Detection of my prey
To detect my prey, I use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odors and temperature, and movement to home in on my victims. It is studied by human scientists that from 10 to 50 meters away, we smell a host’s CO2 plume. As we fly closer—within 5 to 15 meters—we begin to see the host. Yes, we have compound eyes that are distinctly separated from one another. Then, guided by visual cues that draw us even closer, we can sense the host’s body heat. This occurs at a distance of less than a meter. Our wing hum more than 200 beats per second and this would explain that buzzing sound you hear just before a mosquito kisses you. You may find that irritating but it is our own jingle to entertain you : – )
Biting and Itching
Among humans, I have my preferences as well- I love those with type O blood, heavy breathers, an abundance of skin bacteria, high body heat, and pregnant women. Your scientists say that we may have a preference for beer drinkers; finally, this is something we might have in common as well. But now, before I proceed with my discussion, I can sense some carbon dioxide right now and this tells me the presence of my snack of the evening. Presently, I can see this man whom they call ROHIT SAXENA, working on his laptopand I find this as the best time because you all get too engrossed with this machine whenever it is around. I am trying to locate a comfortable place in his body to suck his blood. Oh! Why does he wear these clothes, we never wear them, it makes us difficult to sit and find a suitable location. This toe finger seems yummy- Slurp! Slurp! As I take in the blood, I see this red mark developing on his skin. My saliva contains an anticoagulant that makes it easier to suck up my meal. The saliva induces an allergic response in my victim’s immune system; that’s why his skin will soon get an itchy bump. My bites might also give him a DEGREE OF MBA, not that MBA which you scholars are fond of but Mosquito Bite Allergies.
Yummy this blood is! No wonder this red wine tastes good because you all have such a variety in your meal. I think I am done for the day, so let me head back to the backyard to my fellow mates. There are puddles of water which is my favorite breeding place and it is there where I plan to lay my eggs.
My dislikes
As I move now, I can see a small baby on the lap of his mother. I must appreciate this attitude of humans to take care of the young ones- we are still learning how passionately you all care for your kids. This kid is sleeping beside a table fan and I find it difficult to move in the presence of breeze. We typically weigh around 5mg and our sizes range from 3mm to 6mm so even a zephyr irritates us. I am so delicate that the raindrops shove me downwards at 100 to 300 times the force of gravity. Besides this, there is a list of things which we dislike. Humans generally use insect repellent and use it to get away from us. What you might not be aware of is that we do not like any kind of dryness or clean places. Other things that turn my mood off are when humans cover themselves with light-colored, loose clothes, or any kind of smokes. Certain flavors that we don’t like are oil of lemon eucalyptus, citrus, and picaridin to name a few.
For my Romantic Readers
The Sun is about to set now and all my fellow mates are actively looking for their prey either during dawn or dusk (crepuscular feeders). You must have noticed that the males form large swarms, usually around dusk- that is their dance to impress us, the males and the females fly into the swarms to mate. The males beat their wings between 450 and 600 times per second and when we meet; our buzzing synchronizes to the same speed. Over a period of several weeks, a HEALTHY ROMANTIC COUPLE couple can create a population of thousands. Humans are being a bugger here too- they are thinking to get every female mosquito to breed with sterile males. But we have developed a plan to counter that. Although, I have more interesting details which I would love to share with the lovebirds out there but let me leave that topic for our next interaction.
Eradicating us!
I can sense that the baby has moved away from the fan and let me try tasting his sweet young blood. You must be astonished by my greediness but we have learned this from humans. For their survival, humans can even think of wiping out a complete dynasty, it may be as small as a mosquito or as huge as a dinosaur. I have even observed secretly that at times, they fight among themselves for the hunt of power, greed, and fame. Even if they eradicate us, nature will preserve its ecological balance and who knows a genetically modified version of mosquito will come into existence or a completely new insect may come into existence, which might be even more dangerous to humans. Presently, as far as I know, humans are not taking care of this planet, and the global warming is helping us grow. Even humans have acknowledged that it is because of our presence that rainforests have been saved from the threat of humans. The same humans who are thinking of replacing us are also studying the mosquito saliva as it has the capability of developing anti-clotting drugs that could be useful for cardiovascular diseases in humans.
Well, I can see now that the baby is still, his mother is away and this is the best time to pacify my greediness. Wow, his body is pulpy and juicy, this plane here looks soft and the contours are comfortable. But wait, I can sense some other human coming close to me. Oh no! His mother has spotted me; I need to zigzag out fast. I can fly for up to four hours continuously at 1 to 2 km per hour but I am troubled by my slow speed at times and I wish… ..
… SWAT!!!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35408835
https://www.cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/index.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/mosquitoes/
https://www.westernexterminator.com/blog/10-interesting-facts-mosquitoes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_aegypti
https://www.thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-mosquitoes-1968300
https://www.jcehrlich.com/blog/5-interesting-facts-about-mosquitoes/
https://www.orkin.com/other/mosquitoes/sight
https://goodnewspestsolutions.com/9-things-mosquitoes-hate-youll-love/
https://earthsky.org/earth/how-mosquitoes-find-you-to-bite-you
From the DummyWriter :
The author is himself troubled by so many mosquitos around and wants to devote this article to his father who also suffers from Anopheliphobia (Fear of mosquitos). I intended to make readers aware of these six footed monsters and also reveal the grey shades of lives of humans and mosquitos. I want to thank all those mosquitos who inspired me to write this article.
P.S. – I love spatting them
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10 thoughts on “Autobiography of a Mosquito”
Great writing indeed. There was a point in time I started feeling for the mosquito and its ilk till the last para when it spotted the baby. You are a wonderful story teller. I am still amazed as to how you could make mosquitoes interesting. The research that went into it makes it believable. So fun and learning – couldn’t have asked for more. Thanks. Keep writing
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
By bringing in the intention of the mosquito to harm ‘our’ baby and the element of greed, I would be able to justify the climax to my human readers.
Had my readers been mosquitos, my ending would have been different 😉
All what we need to know is here. Once started, interest was there to read till end. Very nicely written.
Thank you for your words of encouragement
Nice I formation…and explained in a good manner. Nicely written
Thank you for your kind words. We, at dummywriters, plan to come up with new articles every fortnight
It was really interesting!! Thank you sir
Welcome 🙂 Do take every opportunity to learn from the online resources available
This is a good amount of information about how actually a mosquito feels, I literally imagined a mosquito talking…humour added spiced up the whole article. Great debut !
Thanks for your words of encouragement 🙂
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