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Playing dubstep music can be used to ward off Yellow Fever Mosquitoes. A March 2019 study showed when a track by DJ Skrillex was played, female mosquitoes attacked hosts less frequently and delayed blood feeding.
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The greatest thing about winter is the lack of bugs. No pesky mosquitoes making you itch every time you go outside at night! It’s such a relief — but, like, what even happens to mosquitoes in winter? Do they fly south, like birds?
Not quite, according to Mental Floss.
Mosquitoes have difficulty surviving in any temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but their strategy depends on their sex. Males simply die off, though not directly due to the cold — instead, the winter just happens to coincide with the end of their life cycle, when they’ve already finished mating. They actually only live for about 10 days anyway.
Females, on the other hand, enter what is called diapause, a rested state similar to hibernation. They find a hollow log to burrow into, slow their metabolism, and hunker down until the cold is over. Females can stay in diapause for up to six months, thanks to the large reserves of energy that they hoard beforehand — they eat up to 10 times their normal body weight in blood to prepare for this stage.
Photo Credit: iStock
After warm weather returns, females leave their burrow and return to their normal metabolism. Then they must search for more food (blood) to nourish their eggs, and the whole dreadful cycle starts all over again.
Photo Credit: iStock
Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to all this. Some types of mosquitoes can actually breed underground in the winter and forego food, allowing them to stay alive all throughout the cold months. A species called Culex pipiens molestus invaded a poor Manhattan neighborhood in exactly this manner.
Bummer.
The post This Is What Happens to Mosquitoes in the Winter appeared first on UberFacts.
It’s hard to imagine any place in Florida being insect-free, but that is the case at The Happiest Place on Earth, Disney World.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
And it’s all because of a carefully-planned operation created to make sure that guests have the most comfortable experience possible (and because mosquitoes carry serious illnesses). The Mosquito Surveillance Program runs the show at Disney World, ensuring that guests are not eaten alive while they wait to get on rides or stroll around the grounds. The program entails spraying insecticides and maintaining natural predators at the park.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
The Mosquito Surveillance team captures the insects, freezes them, and studies them to learn how to best rid Disney World of the pests. They also keep chickens on the grounds and test their blood to see what kind of diseases they might be contracting from mosquitoes, such as West Nile virus.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Disney actually made a film during World War II about the dangers of malaria, so you know the folks at the park are well versed in the dangers of mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. Watch the video below for more information.
Now if only Disney could find a way to make things a little cooler during the summer…
The post The Reason Why There Are No Mosquitoes at Disney World appeared first on UberFacts.
Scientists in Florida plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild. The males still mate with females, but the hatchlings die before adulthood due to the presence of the new genes.