Every 20th of August is World Mosquito Day. It is observed to mark
the historic discovery by British doctor Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that malaria
is transmitted between humans by female Anopheles mosquitoes.
discovery laid the foundations for scientists across the world to better
understand the deadly role of mosquitoes in disease transmission and come up
with effective innovative interventions.
Top 10 Facts About Mosquitoes
1. Being a doctor rather than a zoologist, Ross did
not name the species that carried malaria but said it was “grey moquito with
2. His discovery earned him the Nobel Prize for
medicine in 1902, the first Briton to win a Nobel.
3. The word ‘mosquito’ comes from the Spanish for
4. Only female mosquitoes have the mouth parts
needed to suck blood from other animals.
5. They use the blood not for their own food but as
a source of protein for their eggs.
6. The first reference to a mosquito in English came
in 1572 when it was described as “A certeine gnat or flie … which biteth both
men and women in their sleepe.”
7. A mosquito can drink up to three times its weight
8. It would take 1.2 million mosquito bites to drain
all the blood from a human body.
9. Male mosquitoes live for only about ten days;
most females live six to eight weeks. Some females hibernate and can live up to
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