The life cycle of a mosquito begins with an egg. Once the egg hatches, the larva emerges and grows through four stages before it becomes an adult.
Baby mosquitoes, or larvae, are small and thin. They have a hairy wormy body that is about 1/4 inch long. Their head is hard and round and they have a soft body.
These baby insects have an abdomen that has 10 segments and at the tip of its abdomen is a siphon tube.
The pupal stage begins when the larvae mature after seven to ten days. At this point, their physical attributes change.
What Do They Look Like?
The life of a mosquito has four stages. After her hunt for blood, a female mosquito would lay her eggs, which emerge as baby mosquitoes a few days later.
There are different characteristics like the body, size, and other specific features that would help us know what these baby mosquitoes look like.
Body
These wigglers have small, hairy, and worm-like bodies. They have a soft body and a hard round head.
The abdomen has ten segments with a siphon tube at its tip. But as the larvae mature, their bodies eventually become longer and thinner.
One distinct difference between the adult mosquito and the larva is that the latter has no wings.
Size
The larvae are known to be small and thin. They are approximately 1/4 of an inch or about 5 mm in length. This is similar to the size of a grain of rice.
Abdomen and Siphon Tube
The abdomen of a baby mosquito has surprisingly 10 segments with a siphon tube at the tip of its abdomen.
The siphon tube pokes through the water and works like a snorkel to help these babies breathe. Moreover, the siphon tube is also used to collect food for the mosquito.
Color
The color of a larva can depend on the species. However, most of them are usually dark in color with a light-colored head. There are also some that have stripes running along their body.
The Difference between a Mosquito Egg and a Baby Mosquito
The eggs are about 1 mm or the size of a grain of salt while a baby mosquito measures about 5 mm in length or more or less 1/4 of an inch.
Eggs are deposited on the surface of stagnant water doing nothing while baby mosquitoes or larvae live and feed on that water until they mature. Eggs are steady and stagnant while baby mosquitoes wriggle happily in the water.
The Difference between a Baby Mosquito and a Pupa
A baby mosquito looks like a long worm while a pupa is shaped like a comma. The siphon tube in a baby mosquito is in its abdomen while it is in the head of a pupa.
Lastly, a baby mosquito is a wriggler that shows active movements while a pupa is inactive but would sink down at any disturbance. This is because a pupa is preparing to become an adult mosquito.
Read More: What Do Mosquito Nests Look Like?
The Difference between a Baby Mosquito and an Adult Mosquito
Baby mosquitoes lack the legs and wings that adult mosquitoes have. Adult mosquitoes also have more hardened bodies compared to the soft, worm-like bodies of baby mosquitoes.
The biggest difference is that adult mosquitoes can fly, while babies cannot. Adults also have a proboscis, or mouthpiece, that they use to pierce the skin and suck blood.
As you can see, there are drastic changes in the appearance of a mosquito from its egg stage to a baby mosquito until it becomes an adult.
How Long Do They Remain as Babies?
Mosquitoes go through four stages during their lives: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. A female mosquito will lay its eggs on the surface of stagnant water.
They hatch within 24 to 48 hours and the larvae emerge. A larva stays a baby only for about a good 7 to 10 days only before it enters the pupal stage and begins to mature.
Final Thoughts
Baby mosquito larvae look a bit like tiny worms and they’re actually pretty cute, in a deadly sort of way. While most mosquito species only live for a few weeks, some can survive for months, or even years.
This is because mosquito larvae are equipped with everything they need to withstand harsh conditions.
Baby mosquitoes, or larvae, are small and tubular, with a single tail that helps them to swim.
They breathe through siphons, which are located on their abdomen. To feed, they scoop up algae and other tiny organisms with their mouthparts.
In addition, their long, slender bodies make it easy for them to slip through cracks and crevices in search of food and shelter.
As mosquito larvae grow, they undergo a series of molts, shedding their exoskeletons and growing larger each time.
Once they reach adulthood, they shed their final exoskeleton and emerge as fully-grown mosquitoes with wings, ready to mate and start the cycle anew.
To sum it up, a mosquito’s form drastically changes during development from an egg to a baby mosquito to a full-grown adult blood-sucking insect.
