Mosquitoes and Fleshflies

There are many fly species that are dependent upon wetland environments for a portion of their lifecycles. Mosquitoes and fleshflies are two of the most commonly known insects in this section because of their nutritional requirements. Fleshflies, as their name implies, consume the flesh of animals, either alive or decaying. Their appearance is much like a house fly but their relentless attack on exposed skin to satisfy a voracious hunger, just after their hatch into their adult form, quickly separates them from their mild mannered look-alike.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs in calm, stagnant water where they are likely not to be disturbed during their pupation. Pupa suspend themselves via a built in buoyancy on the surface of the water with only their mouths being slightly exposed. Particles of detritus and other decaying matter are swept into the mouth by many small brushes located near the mouth parts. As the mosquito grows through its series of morphological changes, its feeding preferences and habitat requirements also change. The female mosquito, when preparing to lay her eggs, requires the nutrition found in blood to provide nourishment to the embryonic stage of the next generation. It is at this time that many of us are most familiar with the lifecycle of the mosquito. We provide the nutrition which feeds the next generation.