How do mosquitoes interact with the environment?
What is one important job mosquitoes have?
One important job mosquitoes have is being food for other animals
What are mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes are insects
What role does mosquitoes play in cycling nutrients?
They move important materials like carbon and nitrogen through the environment
Name three things mosquitoes provide?
They provide food for animals, help pollinate plants, and help cycle nutrients through the ecosystem
What type of wings does mosquitoes have?
Mosquitoes have scaled wings
Name three creatures that eat mosquitoes
Birds, Bats, Frogs and dragonflies eat mosquitoes
What group of insects does the mosquito belong to?
They belong to a group of insects known as Culicidae
What do male mosquitoes eat?
Male mosquitoes eat nectar from flowers
What do scientists learn by studying mosquitoes?
Scientists learn how living things depend on each other and how the ecosystem stays balanced.
What is the mouthpart of a mosquito called?
Proboscis
What happens when male mosquitoes and female mosquitoes drink nectar?
They move pollen from one flower to another
How many legs does the mosquito have?
Mosquitoes have six legs
Female mosquitoes bite animals or humans to get blood, which they need to make eggs
What is one way humans try to control mosquito populations?
One way humans try to control mosquito populations is by removing standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs
Where does the blood go after the mosquito bites?
To their abdomen
What is the process called when the mosquitoes move pollen from one flower to another?
This process is called Pollination
How many species of mosquitoes are known worldwide?
There are 3500 species of mosquitoes worldwide
What happens when mosquitoes die?
Their bodies decompose, adding more nutrients to the soil and water
What diseases are spread from a mosquito bite?
The West Nile virus or Malaria
What type of eyes does the mosquito have?
Compound eyes, which are made of tiny units called ommatidia
Describe one way mosquito larvae help cycle nutrients in water
Mosquito larvae help cycle nutrients by eating organic matter like dead leaves or algae, breaking it down, and releasing nutrients into the water for other organisms
What is the life cycle of a mosquito?
Mosquitoes go through a life cycle with four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult
A process where the insect changes form as it grows is called
Metamorphosis
Why might removing all mosquitoes from an ecosystem cause problems?
Removing all mosquitoes could cause problems because animals that eat them, like bats and birds, might not have enough food, and some plants might get less pollination, disrupting the ecosystem
Name three different mosquito types.
Anopheles, Culex Nigripalpus, and Aedes Taeniorhynchus