Appearance

The adult mosquitoes are long-legged and slender two-winged insects. They complete metamorphosis with 4 stages of development – Eggs, larva, pupa and finally the adult stage.

The first 3 stages of the mosquito are aquatic whereas the adult is an active flying insect. Typically, it takes about 7-14 days for a mosquito to develop from egg to adult, but it is also dependent on the species itself as some may take longer or shorter.

Female mosquitos require a blood meal for them to lay fertile eggs. They are attracted to their hosts by odor, moisture, temperature, etc.

Dark, cool and humid places are the best breeding places for mosquitoes and they can be active either in the day or night.

This can pose a risk for us as they can transmit numerous diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, etc.

Locally, dengue cases in Singapore are spiking. Dengue fever causes death in some cases. The Aedes mosquito is a carrier of the dengue virus. The dengue virus is able to cause dengue fever when an infected Aedes mosquito bites a person. The virus is then passed on to the person during a blood meal, which only female mosquitoes require to reproduce and lay its eggs.