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What is the Lifespan of a Mosquito?

Mosquitoes only live for a month or two in most cases. However, they are constantly reproducing during their lifetime, meaning the population is in a continual cycle. It takes about 14 days for mosquito larvae to develop into adults after they hatch. 

From there, the adult mosquitoes will breed, starting the reproductive cycle over again. Mosquitoes die when temperatures drop into the late autumn, when they are eaten by a predator, or of natural causes in about one to two months.

What is the lifespan of a mosquito?

The Mosquito's Life Cycle

The mosquito life cycle takes two weeks to complete. In general, the mosquito breeding process carries out like so:

  1. Female mosquitoes find a blood meal so that they can reproduce. They then lay their eggs on top of standing water.
  2. After 1-3 days, the eggs hatch. When the larvae hatch, you can see them wiggling around in the water. The larvae eat up all of the algae, protozoans, and other organic material around them.
  3. The larvae become pupae after 7-10 days. At this point, they stay inactive at the surface of the water, acclimating to the air.
  4. The adult mosquito has developed after three days in the pupal stage. Then, just one day later, they are able to breed. Female mosquitoes can reproduce and lay eggs for the majority of their lives.

How Long Does a Mosquito Live For?

Male mosquitoes only live for a week or two past adulthood, spending their time feeding on nectar from plants. Female mosquitoes, on the other hand, often live for over a month. Mosquito eggs, if they do not hatch, can survive for months at a time before hatching. Although mosquitoes have a short life cycle, they sustain their high populations through the summer by continually reproducing.

What Causes Mosquitoes to Die?

Mosquitoes don’t die after biting someone; they can have multiple blood meals throughout their life. In fact, a female mosquito will continually feed throughout her lifetime. They usually die naturally after a month or two. Mosquito populations die off collectively when the warmth of summer recedes into fall. This is because mosquitoes’ bodies don’t work at temperatures lower than 50 degrees. In rare cases, females can hibernate, and unhatched eggs can survive through the winter.

What is the Lifespan of a Mosquito in Southern Louisiana?

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