Q: How many species of mosquitoes are there?
A: About 2,700.

Q: And how many are resistant to at least one insecticide?
A: More than 50.

Q: What does a mosquito weigh?
A: About 2 to 2.5 milligrams (for an Aedes aegypti).

Q: How much blood does a female mosquito drink per, er, serving?
A: About 5-millionths of a liter (for an Aedes aegypti).

Q: How do mosquitoes find new hosts?
A: By sight (they observe movement); by detecting infra-red radiation emitted by warm bodies; and by chemical signals (mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide and lactic acid, among other chemicals).

Q: How fast can a mosquito fly?
A: An estimated 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.

Q: How far away can a mosquito smell you or another host?
A: 20 to 35 meters.

Q: Why does a film of oil on water kill mosquito larvae?
A: Because the oil clogs up the snorkel that the larvae use to breathe.

Q: When do mosquitoes feed?
A: Day-time. Night-time. And all times in-between. Truthfully, some species prefer different times of day or night. This behavior may have evolved to match the host's behavior.

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