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There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes and about 175 of them are found in the United States. Some mosquitoes specialize on animals, and are no bother to us at all. Both female and male, mosquitoes feed mainly on fruit and plant nectar, but female mosquitoes need protein for their eggs, and must take a blood meal in order to reproduce. So when you get a mosquito bite, blame the female. When feeding to repletion, they imbibe anywhere from 0.001 to 0.01 milliliter of blood. Mosquitoes are considered the most dangerous creatures on the planet, responsible for more human deaths each year than sharks, snakes, bears and lions combined.

The different types of Mosquito Species. Mosquitoes exist across the world, with the exception of Antarctica. There are hundreds of different species of mosquitoes, listed below are the major genera of mosquitoes found in the U.S.

Anopheles (feed readily on humans, responsible for Malaria), Coquillettidia (extremely aggressive and feeds primarily on large mammals), Culex (breed in freshwater, responsible for Encephalitis), Culiseta (feeds actively on birds), Mansonia (very aggressive, active at sunset), Ochlerotatus (found in temporary floodwater pools), Psorophora (extremely aggressive, found in floodwater and woodlands), Uranotaenia (commonly found in ground pools), Wyeomyia (not the commonest type). Scientists have discovered that mosquitoes that spread the deadly disease are attracted to people whose feet are heavily covered with certain kinds of bacteria. So keep your feet clean. The researchers have noticed that people with high concentrations of steroids or cholesterol on their skin surface or excess amounts of certain acids, such as uric acid, or emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, attract mosquitoes.

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