Nature
PUBLISHED
Forget crocodiles, snakes, or even other people. For humans, mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on Earth by a considerable amount. Paired with their shrill buzzing and itching bites, these stringy annoyances have seemingly evolved for the sole purpose of antagonizing humankind. But how much do you actually know about our mortal enemy, the mosquito?
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.This video from PBS’s YouTube channel Deep Look gives an up-close insight into mosquitos with an ultra-high definition 4K camera.
The females of the species is more deadly than the male, as they are the ones who administer the bites. But the whole process of “biting” us is actually a lot more complicated than it seems. All in all, they use six different needle-like tools to suck our blood. Most annoying of all, the last needle – known as the hypopharynx – is used to administer chemicals that leave us with an itch and some other unwanted gifts.
The saliva of the mosquito also seeps in and can deliver a host of the world’s best-known and worse-feared viruses and parasites, including dengue fever, West Nile virus disease, Zika, and malaria. Nice one, mosquitoes.
