Mosquitoes Don’t Sing, Their Wings Create The Music

Mosquitoes Don’t Sing, Their Wings Create The Music | Ecency

There is a mosquito willing to bite me every night once I do not use mosquito repellents or insecticides and when they come, they always make this very annoying sound like a trumpet that isn't properly blown at high pitch. If you were one of those who thought or still think that mosquitoes are good singers making that sound before biting, then you are mistaken because mosquitoes do not know how to sing with their mouth or proboscis.

We never really have to deal with male mosquitoes biting us. It is the females that need your and my blood to get the required nutrients to make and keep their eggs alive after aerial mating with the male mosquito.

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Just so you know, female mosquitoes do not know how to sing; it is the sound of their wings you are hearing. The sound of the flapping wings helps the male find them because male mosquitoes are willing and good listeners, as their antennae are equipped to hear the sound. Males also beat their wings, and they have louder noises compared to females, with their loudest sound being 600Hz, while females can make their wings make sounds up to 400Hz.

If you try making the 400Hz mosquito wing sound with a speaker, a male mosquito might approach. The wings of the female mosquito trigger the antenna and the hair as well as sensors on its pedicles which are at the base of its antenna to send information to the brain. When the males get to the female mosquito, they get rejected about 85% of the time.

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When the male attaches to the female, its abdomen is curved towards the female and it attaches its claspers to the female's abdomen after which it mates for about 30 seconds. The female mosquito only mates once after which it lays its eggs on the water surface which become larvae that live in water, and grow into pupae and then into adult mosquitoes.

When next you hear that mosquito buzzing, take your time to appreciate the beauty of nature especially when it is a male because it doesn't have anything to do with your blood or transferring diseases to you but when you hear those buzzing wing sounds from females, take your time to appreciate the diversity of animals but then get an insecticide or a mosquito net to prevent you from suffering from malaria, dangue fever, and yellow fever.