Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are a small fly in the family Culicidae, and are known to transmit dangerous and possibly deadly illnesses to humans and other animals. A few species of Culex spp. mosquitoes that occur here in Cheyenne are known to transmit West Nile Virus. They pick it up from biting birds, and give it to us, our pets, and livestock.
Life Cycle
Mosquitoes are holometabolous, meaning they go through four different stages of life (egg, larva (maggot), pupa, and adult.
The larvae molt several times into larger individuals, then go into their pupal (tumblers) stage to finish developing.
Some mosquitoes lay eggs in the soil to wait for a flood or heavy rainfall to hatch (Aedes spp.), while others lay them in little clumps on the surface of calm water (Culex spp.).
Once they're done, a mosquito will emerge out of their pupal casing as a winged and sexually mature adult.
Those eggs hatch into larvae (wrigglers) which eat by filter feeding small particles in the water, and breathe by sticking their siphon out of the water to reach air.
Virus and Disease Transmission
Only the female mosquitoes need to bite humans and other animals to get a blood meal for her eggs. The males just drink nectar from flowers. That means only the females are the ones transmitting illnesses. With West Nile Virus, the female mosquito must first bite an infected bird for the virus to enter her body. If it can persist in her body, then the next time she takes a blood meal, that virus can transfer to that animal (or human) through her saliva. Few mosquitoes actually have WNV, and even fewer can transmit it to people. A small portion of the people with West Nile even develop symptoms, but even with these small chances, it is still very important to protect yourself, family, and pets from mosquitoes.
The best way to reduce mosquito populations, is to stop them from having a place to breed in the first place. This is also the most challenging due to jurisdiction boundaries, freshwater habitat for other wildlife, livestock watering, and all the secret hidden areas mosquitoes can lay eggs. Buckets, barrels, toys, bird baths, culverts, and anywhere water collects and remains for two weeks can produce mosquitoes.