Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes can be a real nuisance anywhere in the world, leaving itchy bites on uncovered skin and waking you up from your sleep with their high pitched buzz. But besides being a total annoyance, mosquitoes are also the number 1 killer in the world, causing more human fatalities than sharks.

They may look harmless, but the numbers of dengue and malaria cases over the years have proven that mosquitoes are more deadly than they look. Here are some facts that you might want to know about these nasty little insects:

• Mosquitoes existed since the dinosaur era which was 400 million years ago.

• They are found close to still water, where their larvae feed and develop.

• They seem to be attracted to dark colours.

• Mosquitoes will normally bite you at dawn or dusk – mostly nocturnal. That’s when their internal clocks tell them it is feeding time.

• Mosquitoes are attracted to heat and they find lactic acid alluring thus would tend to bite people who had just exercised.

• Bigger people tend to attract more mosquitoes because they produce higher Carbon Dioxide and lactic acid.