You mosquitoes, also known as muriçocas or carapanãs, belong to the Class Insecta, Order Diptera and Family Culicidae. Your body is divided into head, chest and abdomen. They also have a pair of feel-sensitive antennas responsible for picking up smells; a pair of wings; another pair turned into rockers; and biting-sucking mouthparts. There are several species that transmit pathogens, such as animals of the genus Aedes, transmitters of dengue and yellow fever; and the like culex, transmitters of filariasis.
The adults of these invertebrate animals have variable habits, usually feeding on blood, and are therefore called hematophagous. This eating habit is restricted only to females, who also feed on sap and nectar. After mating, they feed on blood, as this food provides protein and iron, substances necessary for the development of their eggs. Males feed only on flower nectar and fruit juice.
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Females of these mosquitoes are attracted to substances emanating from the host. Because they have chemical perception capacity, these animals sense body odor, perspiration and carbon dioxide that mammals and birds release in the breathing process.
Milton Strieder, a biologist and professor at Unisinos in Rio Grande do Sul, states that there are no scientific explanations for why the insect attacks the region of the ears. “What we know is that the mosquito is attracted by the carbon dioxide released by man through the nose”, explains the professor.
The annoying hum the female makes when prowling around for food is nothing more than the sound coming from the movement of her wings as she flies.
Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
MORAES, Paula Louredo. "Mosquitoes"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/por-que-os-mosquitos-zumbem-nas-nossas-orelhas.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
