What Do Mosquitoes Eat Other Than Blood?

[Ian]

When the female anopheles mosquito does not need a high protien blood meal from a mammal, what does she eat?
I read somewhere that they feed on plant sap, but has anyone any deeper info on what kind of plants they feed on or prefer.

Thanks,
Ian.

 

[Moonbear]

Here's a whole site about mosquitoes. I'm providing the link to the page the quote below comes from (general biology of mosquitoes), but you can go to the top of that page to get back to their mosquito home page with even more information. http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/moslife.htm

Only the Female Can Bite: When adult mosquitoes emerge from the aquatic stages, they mate, and the female seeks a blood meal to obtain the protein necessary for the development of her eggs. The females of a few species may produce a first batch of eggs without this first blood meal. After a blood meal is digested and the eggs are laid, the female mosquito again seeks a blood meal to produce a second batch of eggs. Depending on her stamina and the weather, she may repeat this process many times without mating again. The male mosquito does not take a blood meal, but may feed on plant nectar. He lives for only a short time after mating.

 

[Janitor]

I have always wondered what baby snakes eat. Surely the mother does not bring food to them. But when they are tiny and slow, how can they catch any prey on their own?

 

[Moonbear]

I have always wondered what baby snakes eat. Surely the mother does not bring food to them. But when they are tiny and slow, how can they catch any prey on their own?

I'm not sure about the live born snakes, but with oviparous snakes, they'll retain a bit of a yolk sac from the egg that keeps them nourished until they are big enough to start catching their own food. What that food is would probably depend on the species and habitat.

 

[DocToxyn]

I have always wondered what baby snakes eat. Surely the mother does not bring food to them. But when they are tiny and slow, how can they catch any prey on their own?

You are correct that maternal care is rather minimal in snake species, especially after hatching/birth, however just because they are small does not mean that baby snakes are slow. Neonatal snakes are very good at catching and consuming appropriately-sized prey items and the venomous species can bite and inject very early.

As far as what food they eat, Moonbear is right that it depends on the species. If they are large enough they will tackle small frogs, rodents, birds, etc. Some of the very small species that I'm familiar with like the red-bellied snake, Storeria occipitomaculata, and the ringneck snake, Diadophis punctatus, are close to three inches at birth and eat smaller individuals of what the parents typically eat- insects, worms, slugs, salamanders. This is probably pretty common fare for most small snakes and might also include other small snakes and lizards as the local food web dictates. Most captive-bred baby snakes are raised on pinkie mice or rats since they are easily bred as food or readily obtained (both fresh and frozen!) from numerous sources.

 

[Monique]

Don't snakes eat the egg from which they hatch?

 

[DocToxyn]

I haven't run across any reports of the neonates eating the shells, but with certain live-bearing snake species, typically large constrictors, the mother will consume any dead young or unfertilized ova that are cast with the brood. This is presumed to be a means of energy compensation for her investment in the offspring, but it could also cut down on attraction of predators since some young snakes stay with the mother in the brooding den for some time after birth.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for the info on skeeter-feeding Moonbear, just what I needed.

 

[Janitor]

Thanks for the snake replies. What with email notification not working, I hadn't seen those posts until now.

By the way, I heard today that there is something called Rift Valley virus that is spread by mosquitoes, and it is much more damaging to human health than West Nile.

 

[iansmith]

By the way, I heard today that there is something called Rift Valley virus that is spread by mosquitoes, and it is much more damaging to human health than West Nile.

Several disease vector that are more dangerous than West nile viruse are carry by mosquito and other insect.

http://www.aboutbugsbugsbugs.com/mosquitoes/health.htm

This is just a quick list:
African Trypanosomiasis
Babesiosis
Chagas Disease
Dengue Fever
Ehrlichiosis
Encephalitis which includes several different type
Insect Bites and Stings
Leishmaniasis
Lyme Disease
Lymphatic Filariasis
Malaria
Onchocerciasis
Plague
Q Fever
Relapsing Fever
Rickettsialpox
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness
Infectious Diseases/Zoonoses
Trachoma
Tularemia
Typhus
Yellow Fever

 

[paebo]

And also you forgot, Bancroftian Filariasis caused by Wuchereria bancrofti vectored by Culex sp. or Anopheles sp. this causes Elephantiasis.