The Mosquito Bite

A female mosquito lands on your skin and inserts her proboscis (very sharp beak) into your arm. Her saliva contains a lubricant to help make sure you do not notice the intrusion. Her saliva also contains an anti-coagulant to make sure that the blood she steals does not clot. She sucks your blood (about 5 micro liters) and leaves behind some saliva in your skin so that you will remember her for several days. She uses your blood to nourish the 100 to 150 eggs she will shortly lay. She is able to lay up to 10 clutches of eggs in her pesky lifetime. If conditions are not right for her offspring, those eggs may lay dormant for up to seven years before they hatch.