Birth of a Mosquito

Sunday, 3 March 2013

Strictly speaking this amazing footage by Alvaro Mendoz Productions does not show the actual birth of a mosquito but the emergence of one in to its adult stage. The first three stages, the egg, larva and pupa are mostly spent in water. Typically this takes between five and fourteen days and at that point the pupae will come to the surface and break through to the air.

However, water tension allows the insect to literally walk on water – or in the case of this mosquito it can emerge from its pupa form in to adulthood right at the very surface without breaking the water’s surface tension. Floating on the surface it is able to harden its exoskeleton and wings and then fly off – all within the space of a very short amount of time. This piece of film shows this rarely seen episode in the life of a mosquito. Amazing.

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