Mosquitoes typically can complete a breeding cycle in 8-10 days and there are 4 stages involved in the mosquito lifecycle.

• Egg
• Larva
• Pupa
• Adult Mosquito

Did you know that mosquito eggs can hatch in as little as a few days or stay dormant for months on end? While adult mosquitoes might do not so well in colder winter temperatures the eggs can stay dormant and ready to hatch at any time ready to descend upon your lawn at the first inkling of warm weather.

Mosquito Tiger Fast Facts

• Mosquitoes generally lay up to 100 eggs at a time
• While eggs need to be laid in water initially they can actually survive drying out for up to 8 months
• Mosquitoes will lay their eggs above the waterline of almost any body of water. Mosquitoes will breed in as little as a bottle cap of water which is why the homeowner can provide the biggest control at preventing mosquitoes.
• Eggs look like small pieces of black dirt and can be hard to identify

Once conditions are right the eggs will hatch into larva. Eggs can develop into larva in as little as 5 days.

Mosquito Tiger Fast Facts

• The larva stage actually consists of 4 separate stages of molting before advancing to the pupa stage
• Larva require water to continue their development. Larva will only emerge from the egg stage once water has wholly covered the eggs
• Larvae require air to breathe and have a specialized body part called the “siphon” that they use to breathe air at the water's surface making it possible to drown or suffocate mosquito larvae with a film of dish soap from your kitchen
• Larvae survive on aquatic algae and microorganisms in stagnant water
• Mosquito larva are often referred to as “wrigglers” due to how they resemble wriggling worms while they are breathing at the surface of the water

The pupa stage tends to be the fastest for a mosquito. Most mosquitoes will only remain in the pupa stage for 2-3 days before emerging as fully grown adult mosquitoes.

Mosquito Tiger Fast Facts

• A pupa is the life stage for an insect as it transitions from immature to mature stages
• Mosquito pupae are referred to as “tumblers” because unlike most insect pupae mosquitoes can actually swim around in the water. The swimming looks like the pupa tumbling and squirming through the water
• Tumblers are the easiest of the immature mosquito stages to spot. If you have a birdbath in your yard and don’t believe you have mosquitoes, simply use your finger to disturb the water and watch all the tumblers squirm into action!

The fourth and final stage of the mosquito lifecycle is emergence from pupa into a fully formed adult.

Mosquito Tiger Fast Facts

• Only female mosquitoes bite humans and take a blood meal. A favorite fact among most men we surveyed!
• Male mosquitoes feed on nectar from flowers similar to bees or butterflies
• Female mosquitoes will only lay eggs after a blood meal
• Not all mosquito species bite people but the ones most prevalent in Texas, Aedes Aegypti, never miss an opportunity to snack on you, your family and your friends.
• Mosquitoes will hang out on the underside of broad leaves, trees and bushes during the day to get out of the sun. Mosquitoes typically will not hang out in the grass if your yard is well maintained and receives lots of sun
• Mosquitoes are responsible for 750,000 – 1,000,000 human deaths per year. Compare that with the runner up, snakes, which contribute to roughly 50,000 deaths a year.