Mosquito Bites!

A mosquito finds a victim (YOU!) to get a blood meal from sight, using visual sensors, smell, through use of chemical sensors, and perception of warmth, by heat sensors. The mosquito then sticks you with her proboscis and injects into you her salvia that has an anticoagulant, which is a factor that will inhibit your blood from clotting, so then your blood will continue to flow, making it possible for her to obtain the blood meal. After she withdraws her proboscis some of the proteins from the saliva stay in the wound which initiates an immune response within the body. This inflammatory response causes a wheal, an area around the bite, which swells, reddens and itches! The itch lasts until all of the foreign mosquito proteins are broken down by your immune cells. While a bite from A. earlei will not infect you with malaria or another series disease, MANY diseases are transmitted by A. earlei's relatives.

So you've been bitten....Now what?

Treatment

Wash with soap and water

Avoid scratching

Apply:

Calamine lotion

Cortisone creams

Other "itch relief" ideas

How to prevent being bitten again!

Prevention of Bites-

-Wear clothing that covers body
-Apply Mosquito repellent that contains DEET (NN-diethyl-metatoluamide)
This chemical impairs a mosquito's chemical sensors making YOU more difficult to locate!
-Control Mosquito population by eliminating breeding sites by removing sources of standing water-- this includes taking the necessary step to make your fish pond (if you have one) a less attractive breeding ground
-Permethrin can be used and is an effective pesticide. I would try to only use in extreme situations because it is a neurotoxin! Avoid all contact with skin!
-Use Citronella products - HOWEVER- only effective in HIGH concentrations
-Attract animals that eat mosquitoes, such as bats, to the area surrounding your home. One bat catch up to 600 mosquitoes in an HOUR! Mosquito eating fish are another good option if you have a pond, one fish can eat up to 500 mosquito larvae per day!

There is much to be learned about Anopheles earlei at this point! Hopefully the information I have learned and included for you on this webpage has excited YOU to learn more about this species and to fill in some of the missing gaps!

REFERENCES:

Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District. <URL: http://www.mosquitoes.org/index.htm>. Accessed 9 April 2008.

Center for Disease Control. <URL: www.cdc.gov>. Accessed 13 April 2008.

Clements, A.N. 1992. The Biology of Mosquitoes. Chapman and Hall, London, UK.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii <URL: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/awowale_john/>. Accessed 9 April 2008.

Considerations for Community Mosquito Control in Wisconsin. <URL: http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/diaglab/labnotes/mosquito-cntrl.pdf>. Accessed 1 March 2008.

D’Antonio, M. and A. Spielman. 2001. Mosquito-A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe. Hyperion, New York, New York, USA.

Entomology Collection-Anopheles earlei. <URL:http://www.entomology.ualberta.ca/searching_species_details.php?b=Diptera&c=7&s=6130#>. Accessed 27 February 2008.

Harbach, R. E. and K.L. Knight. 1980. Taxonomists’ Glossary of Mosquito Anatomy. Plexus Publishing, Marlton, New Jersey, USA

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly. <URL: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/cocchiol_matt/>. Accessed 9 April 2008.

How Stuff Works- How Mosquitoes Work 1998. <URL: http://science.howstuffworks.com/mosquito.htm>. Accessed 1 March 2008.

Malaria Journal 1999-2008. <URL:http://www.malariajournal.com/>. Accessed 22 April 2008.

Matheson, R. 1944. Handbook of the Mosquitoes of North America. Hafner Publishing Company, New York, New York, USA

National Museum of Australia Canberra. <URL: http://www.nma.gov.au>. Accessed 9 April 2008.

Over 40 Mosquito Bite Itch Relief Tips. <URL: http://tipnut.com/over-40-mosquito-bite-itch-relief-tips/ >. Accessed 9 April 2008.

Plasmodium falciparum. <URL: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/augustin_laur/>. Accessed 9 April 2008.

Pratt, H.D. 1952. Notes on Anopheles earlei and other American Species of the Anopheles maculipennis Complex. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 3:484-493

Rozeboom, L.E. 1952. Anopheles earlei Vargas, 1943 in Montana: Identity and Adaptation to Laboratory Conditions. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 3:477-479

Science News for Kids- The Buzz about Mosquitoes 2004. <URL:http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20040811/Feature1.asp>. Accessed 1 March 2008.

Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit- Adult Anopheles earlei 2008. <URL:http://www.wrbu.org/speciespages_ano/ano_a-hab/anear_hab.html>. Accessed 27 February 2008.

About the Author:

Hi! My name is Laura Otto and I am currently a junior at University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. My major is Biology with a concentration in biomedical science. I choose to study Anopheles earlei because living in Wisconsin, I have a lot of personal experience with these pesky insects. I love spending time outside, camping, biking and just enjoying not having to study! I plan to continue my education next year by attending graduate school to become a Physician Assistant. With any questions or corrections please email me at otto.lau2@students.uwlax.edu. Thanks for taking the time to check out my site!

This site was last updated April 21, 2008. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Biology 203.

To return to multipleorganisms.net click here!