Differentiate Between Friendly And Foe Mosquitoes

(Prof Waqar Hussain, Lahore)

Mosquito,Literal Meaning Little Fly, Is One Of The Oldest Specie Of Gnat,Exiting Since 150 Million Years Ago.At Present,There Are 100trillion Mosquitoes With At Least 3500 Species In The World.Mosquito Born Diseases Infect 700 Million People Annually With Fatality To The Tune Of 3 Millions.Of All The Harmful Creatures Of Earth,The Mosquitoes Poses Greatest Threat To Mankind.In Order To Wipe Off Or Lessen Their Population ,One Must Differentiate Between Friendly And Foe Genera Of Mosquitoes.This Categorization Will Help To Eradicate Comparatively Fewer Numbers Of Pernicious Mosquitoes Successfully.

Of All The 3500 Species,The Three Most Significant Genera Are The Culex,Anopheles And Aedes,Responsible For Transmitting Different Dreadly Dangerous Diseases To Homo Sapiens.Slight Attention Is Required To Distinguish The Three.

Culex ,Literal Meaning Gnat, Is A Genera Of Mosquito Comprising Of 88 Species And Serve As Vector For Diseases West Nile Virus,Filariasis,Japanese Encephalitis,St Louise Encephalitis And Avian Malaria.Culex Mosquitoes Are In Abundance.They Are Mostly Brown Or Grey With Stout Body,Unspotted Wings And Body Sitting Posture Is Parallel To The Surface.Culex Is Considered To Be Least Dangerous Of The Three Types Of Mosquitoes Due To The Fact That Humans Are Not Their Preferred Blood Meal.Instead, Most Species Of Culex Bite Bird Rather Than Human.

Anopheles,Literal Meaning,Useless, Comprises Of 460 Species And Serve As Vector For Diseases Malaria,Cannine Heartworm,Dirofilaria Immitis,The Filariasis Causing Wuchereria Bancrofti,Burgi Malayi And O'nyong'nyoung Fever.Anopheles Mosquito Can Be Distinguished By The Palps Which Are As Long As The Proboscis And By The Presence Of Discrete Black And White Scales On The Wings.Anopheles Can Easily Be Identified By The Typical Resting Position,Abdomen Sticking Up In The Air ,Making An Angle Of 45 Degree With Surface On Which They Are Sitting.Males Form Large Swarms Usually Around Dusk And Female Fly Into The Swarms To Mate.

Aedes,Literal Meaning Unpleasant, Consists Of700 Species And Serve As Vector For Many Diseases Dengue,Yellow Fever,Chikungunya,Lymphatic Filariasis An Illness That Can Trigger Elephantiasis In Certain Cases.Mosquitoes Of Typical Small And Have Black And White Stripe Marking On Their Body And Legs.Aedes Has A White "Lyre" On Her Thorax With Two Yellow "Chords" In The Center.Aedes Rests With Abdomen Parallel To The Surface Making Slight Hump.Aedes Form Concourse Never Exceeding 6 In Number.It Means If You See A Swarm,Be Sure,These Mosquitoes Are Not Aedes.On Identification Of Obnoxious Mosquitoes ,It Is Easier To Obliterate Them.

As We All Know That Only Female Mosquito Bite Humans For Protien And Iron,Required For Egg Development,Male Mosquito Only Feed On Plant Sap,Dew And Nectar.To Further Reduce The Number Of Menacing Mosquitoes,It Is Imperative To Distinguish Between Male And Female Mosquitoes By Noting Below Mentioned Tips.First, If Two Mosquitoes Have Same Colour,Resting Posture And Design,The Slightly Larger One Is Female.Second,Female Mosquito Has Longer Proboscis(Piercing Organ) Than Male;Third,Male Mosquito Has More Bushy Antenna;Fourth,Male Has Palps As Long As Proboscis Or Even Longer And Curved Upward,Appearing In Shape Of Greek Letter Psi With Exception Of Female Anopheles Which Has Palps Equal To Its Proboscis; Fifth,Male Mosquito's Buzz Or Flight Tone Is About 400 Hz.So,Low Pitched Whinny Buzz Indicates Female Mosquito.

By Applying Visual And Auditory Senses,It Is Possible To Distinguish Between Dangerous Anopheles And Aedes From Almost Benign Culex But Also Between Genders.This "Selective Perspective" Approach Will Lessen The Number Of Targeted Enemies,Enabling Us To Cope Effectively With This Tiny Fierce Creature.On The Recent Onslaught Of Dengue,We Are Left With Hobson's Choice ;"Kill Mosquito To Kill Dengue".Keep In Mind!" If You Allowed Mosquito To Breed; You Will Bleed".A Nod Is Enough For The Wise!

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Prof Waqar Hussain
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