Getting to Know the Four Phases of Mosquito Metamorphosis

Mosquitoes are animal a group of insects belonging to the order Diptera (flies), and belonging to the family Culicidae. The genus in this group includes Anopheles, Culex, Psorophora, Ochlerotatus, Aedes, Sabethes, Wyeomyia, Backstageday Haemagoggus for a total of about 35 countries covering 2700 species.

Mosquitoes have two scaly wings, a slender body, and six long legs; between species varies but rarely exceeds 15 mm. In English, mosquitoes are known as “mosquito“, comes from a word in Spanish or Portuguese which means little fly. The use of the word mosquito dating back to 1583. In Great Britain, mosquitoes are also known as gnats.

In female mosquitoes, the mouthparts form a long proboscis to penetrate the skin of mammals (or in some cases birds or also reptiles and amphibians) to suck blood. Female mosquitoes require protein for egg formation and because the mosquito’s diet consists of honey and fruit juices, which contain no protein, most female mosquitoes need to suck blood to obtain the necessary protein.

The male mosquito is different from the female mosquito, with a mouthpart that is not suitable for sucking blood. In addition, there are also unique types of mosquitoes, namely from Toxorhynchites. This type of mosquito never sucks blood, and becomes a predator of other mosquito larvae.

Definition of Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is a biological development process in animals that involves changes in physical appearance and/or structure after birth or hatching. These physical changes occur as a result of cell growth and cell differentiation which are radically different.

Some insects, amphibians, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo a process of metamorphosis, which is usually (but not always) accompanied by changes in habitat or behavior.

There are two types of metamorphosis in animals, namely complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis. It is said to be perfect because the larval form is very much different from the imago form. There are 4 stages through which complete metamorphosis goes, namely, egg – larva – pupa / nymph – imago. Examples of complete metamorphosis include frogs, mosquitoes, flies, butterflies.

Incomplete metamorphosis in insects only goes through three stages, namely, egg – nymph – imago (adult animal). Animals that undergo incomplete metamorphosis have the same body shape from childhood to adulthood. The difference is the growth of some parts of the animal’s body. Examples of animals that undergo incomplete metamorphosis are walang, ladybugs, whitefly, termites, aphids, crickets, dragonflies etc. Following are the stages of metamorphosis in animals.

Mosquito Metamorphosis Phase

The following is a series of four stages of mosquito metamorphosis from egg to adult mosquito as reported by the scientific site: Gramedia.com:

1. Telur

The development process of complete metamorphosis in mosquitoes starts from the egg phase. In this phase, mosquito eggs are produced from female mosquitoes that have previously been fertilized by male mosquitoes. This female mosquito can produce eggs from 100 to 200 eggs in one fertilization.

This female mosquito or mother mosquito will lay her eggs on the surface of calm water and in humid conditions. Mosquito eggs will die before successfully hatching into adult mosquitoes if the water in which they live dries up. The time period for hatching mosquito eggs is 1 to 3 days.

2. Larva

When the mosquito eggs hatch, the next stage of metamorphosis is turning into a larva. These larvae are better known as mosquito larvae. Grameds may have found mosquito larvae or larvae on the surface of stagnant water, such as in a bathtub, bucket, or other puddle.

Unlike when they were eggs, mosquito larvae can be seen and even move in the water. The mosquito larval phase usually lasts 7 to 10 days before turning into a pupa.

3. Pupa

After the mosquito larvae, the next metamorphosis phase is turning into a pupa or cocoon if it occurs in a butterfly. Not much different from a butterfly, when the mosquito is in the pupa stage, the only active ones are the respiratory organs which are also discussed in the Metamorphosis: Mosquito Series book.

To change from a pupa to an adult mosquito. It usually takes approximately 12 days. During the pupa phase, physical changes will occur, such as the appearance of fine feathers and wings which later become the hallmark of mosquitoes.

4. Adult Mosquito

After 12 days past the pupa phase, the last metamorphosis phase is turning into an adult mosquito or we usually call it a mosquito. The adult mosquito will emerge from the split skin of the pupa.

Male mosquitoes usually hatch earlier than female mosquitoes from their pupae. After becoming an adult mosquito, this animal can fly, find food, and reproduce.

Thus the explanation of the metamorphosis of mosquitoes that can be a lesson that creatures as small as mosquitoes have an extraordinary life cycle.

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