WEBVTT - Mosquitoes: The Worst 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to you Stuff you should know from House Stuff 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:12.760 Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:17.360 Josh Clark with Charles W. Chuck Bryant and Jerry's over 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:21.279 there be a Little Prankster. Yeah. Pre show Shenanigans. Yeah. Um, 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:26.239 well this is stuff you should know dot com. No podcast, 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:28.200 there is a stuff you should know dot com. Yeah. 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:30.200 That was my not so subtle way of working in 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:32.080 a plug car our website. I thought it was great. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:35.519 How about plugging Twitter and yeah, you should do that 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.879 as well. Okay to Twitter and Facebook. Yeah, look up 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:41.760 that s y s K podcast. That's right. You know 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:43.559 a lot of people if you go to iTunes to 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.880 uh listen to our show, you might think, man, these 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.880 three hundred episodes are awesome. I love these guys. Here's 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.960 a fact for you. We have close to seven fifty 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:57.480 or more? Is it more now? I think we'll be 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:00.360 right at it, right at seven fifty right now? That's right. 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:02.440 So you were getting really short changed. So all you 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:04.840 need to do is go to stuffy sho dot com. 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:07.960 We have our entire podcast archives. Yeah. I think it's 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:12.400 stuffy dot com slash podcast slash archives something like that. Yeah, 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.679 you should go listen to the early episodes when we 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.720 just rambled on about nothing for five minutes at the 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.199 beginning of every show before we got tight and professional bam, 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:26.400 tight as a drum. Mosquitoes go, I hate them. Who doesn't, 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.800 I mean, everybody hates mosquitoes. And I was thinking, well, like, 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:33.280 it's kind of I understand, Like mosquitoes need some blood 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.440 to go procreate, So what's the big deal if they 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:38.839 take a little of your blood and go lay some eggs, 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.840 And it's fine, It's part of the circle of life. 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.800 And then I remembered how many mosquitoes need your blood, 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:49.240 and that how much disease mosquitoes carry their disease vector. Yeah, 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.520 and a pretty good one too. I'm one of those 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.480 people that, um, they flocked to. Oh yeah, you know. 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:57.240 My mom used to say it's because I was sweet, 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:01.000 But what she really meant was, it's because you're a 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.840 sweaty monster. It's because you probably admit a lot of 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:09.800 no nonnal the hide. I admit a lot of everything. Well, 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:13.239 you definitely do no nonal the hide. What I don't 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:18.560 Why can I say that non nonal Your eyes just 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:24.760 roll back. I mean it's spelled you can pronounce it however, 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.520 you like n O, n A n A L. But 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:33.120 it's a an oil that mosquitoes are bonkers for it. 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.920 I must have it in spades, chuck is half that 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:42.200 none at all bam, and then it's technically non an 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:46.760 all the hide. I was just inhabited by a spirit 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:54.280 that can really say some words. He's gone, all right. Mosquito, buddy, 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.200 is Spanish for a little fly or a little gnat 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.160 or a little nat. Yeah. I think in Europe they 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.720 called them nat or maybe still calling that, right, I think, 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.160 so are they not on the mosquito train? I don't know. 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.560 I haven't asked somebody from Europe. Let us know, let 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.440 us know what you call mosquitoes. That's right. And the 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.640 use of the word mosquito dates back to about fifteen 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.600 eighty three in North America, which is weird that they 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.400 can they can trace the etymology back to that. But 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:25.600 I saw no sourcing, no like, oh, well it was 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.320 Vasco de Gama or something like that who said mosquito. 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:32.959 It's a little that let's call him that. No idea 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.120 where it came from. But I've seen it as honed 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:38.480 as fifteen eighty three. Yeah, that sounds made up maybe 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:44.000 online etymology dictionary is usually pretty some point. And they 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.400 said fifteen eighties but had no attribution. Really interesting, Well, 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:53.160 they've been around for thirty million years no more. Yes, 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.040 well I figured at least thirty million. The oldest fossilized 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.640 blood that's ever been found was found and I think 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.440 wyoming in a mosquito, know that was forty six million 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:04.200 years old? Was that one in amber? And did they 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.320 extract it's DNA to make dinosaurs? It was in grant 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.320 it but it was still colored so you could see 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:15.480 the blood it was. It's crazy. It's intact like it 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:17.839 went and eight and I was like, oh, something killed me. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.280 Now I'm fossilized to the blood of tuk Tuk. By 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.320 the way, you go listen to a fossils episode. That 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:28.280 is fascinating stuff. It is a good one, agreed, sir. So. Mosquitoes, um, 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:30.640 they like to drink your blood, which we'll get into later, 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:32.400 but they do this that makes them, by the way, 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:38.480 hematophogic and jerks one of those too. Yeah, It's there's 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.919 nothing creepier than being on your deck and seeing a 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:44.640 brand new mosquito land on you and you smash it 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.760 and there's a lot of blood already there, and you 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:48.760 know it's not yours. You know it's not yours because 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.679 to you it's brand new. You're covered in your neighbor's blood. 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.200 Guy down the street, who knows, and who knows what's 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.520 in that blood, which is why mosquitoes are disease vectors. 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.640 That's right. So they're going to find you and attack 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:05.520 you by using UM. And I like how this article 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:08.400 puts it. It sounds more like a military aircraft than 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.200 an insect because all these sensors, they have chemical sensors. 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:16.039 They can sniff out that carbon dioxide and lactic acid 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:19.800 up to a hundred feet away. Yes, and if you're breathing, 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:23.320 you're giving that junk out. Well, yeah, U xhale c 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.200 O two and mosquitoes hone in on that. They actually 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:31.640 have a neuron receptor that's designed to accept c O 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.400 two and say, oh, well, there's a bunch of CEO 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.400 two over here, I'm gonna go attack whatever it's coming 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:39.080 out of. There's a blood meal waiting to happen, exactly. 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.839 And so they trek CEO two. They trek not analde hyde. 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:49.400 I got it um and other stuff too. It comes 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:53.120 out of you, lactic acid in your sweat. They track 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.200 that too, so very much the way that we smell things, 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.600 or taste things, or see things or hear things. Mosquitoes 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:04.479 sense CEO two and other volatile compounds that humans and 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:08.839 other warm blooded animals emit. Yeah, they actually have visual 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.800 sensors as well. So, um, if you're in the green 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:16.240 woods and you're wearing a white T shirt, if it 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.359 contrasts heavily with the background, you're gonna stand out. You 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.040 want to wear camouflage clothing at all times, all all 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.080 the time, even when you're not in the woods, just 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.200 to show off to others. And that movement if you 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.280 if you're moving around, if you're doing a dance out 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:32.120 in the woods with your white uh frock, you're gonna 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.440 get attacked because you can be sweaty too. If you're 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.080 at if you're a member of the Polyphonic Spree at 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.960 a show in the woods, you're getting bit by a mosquito. 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:44.880 That's right. Uh And what else? Heat sensors, This one 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:50.000 is pretty unbelievable. They actually can detect heat infrared like 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:55.800 the predator. Yes, they are basically like the predator. So 0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:01.120 you want to talk about body Parts. Yeah, Tommy, I 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.320 mean we kind of have to, you know. Oh, I'm 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.320 sorry it was Joey was an airplane, right, Yeah, it 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:09.960 was Joey. I saw that about half of that the 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:12.240 other night for the first time, and forever it's I 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:15.720 could watch it every week. It's so classic. And Emily 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:17.400 wasn't laughing. I was like, this is not your bag 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:19.520 as it and she said I laughed a lot when 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.520 I saw it when I was twelve. She didn't like 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.520 it anymore. I didn't hold up. She's not a big 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:25.920 fan of the Absurdist. That's the shame. It's a good 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.800 movie still. Yeah, Like I haven't seen their plane two 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:34.239 him forever, but I'm quite sure it's still pretty good. Joey, 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.640 you ever been to a Turkish prison? It's so wrong. 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:41.120 You couldn't even make that joke today, you know. It's like, 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:43.560 write a pedophile joke into your new comedy. And she 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.920 quickly that kid's like, why don't we just take that out? 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:51.800 It sound funny. You're coming out of ruper at Everett. Um, alright, 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.040 so body parts, Um, you have your head and that's 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.920 where all these lovely sensors are that we talked about 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:03.440 the chemical, visual and heat sensors, and the biting apparatus. Yeah, 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.760 which the probiscus, depending on whether it's a male or female. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:11.320 You know, it's longstanding. What you would think is a 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:14.760 myth of some sort that it's just females that um 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.480 bite female mosquios. It's absolutely true. The men are just 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:22.320 like little hippies eating flower nectar. They don't bite. They 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.240 don't they're not even equipped to bite. Nope, they're incapable 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:27.320 of biting you. So if you're ever bitten or stung 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.920 whatever you want to call it by a mosquito, that's 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.480 a lady. It is a lady, although she's not acting 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:36.000 very ladylike. Blood meals aren't very lady like. No, she's 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:39.640 like the bride, that's right. Uh. You're also going to 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:44.280 find two compound eyes, um, some antennae, and then the 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.920 mouth parts which we just mentioned the probiscus mouth and 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.839 part for the lady. Just call it a mouth mouthparts 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:58.240 so gross, yeah, but I get it, it's science. Uh. 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:01.680 And then the palp us is another mouth part, another 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.440 disturbing word, thorax. That's the body segment where the wings 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.079 and legs are attached. Yes, all this makes it an 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:14.000 insect has two wings and six legs. Yeah, attached to 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:18.040 a thorax. That's an insect, buddy, that's right. They actually 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:21.920 have a heart, little compound heart in that thorax. And 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:25.120 then they have their abdomen, which is where they store 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:30.920 the digestive organs and that's where the poops from. Yeah, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.080 and that's where the blood is to I imagine, right, Yeah, 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:37.720 where their blood meals stored blood meals really gross it is. 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.960 That was from what the flea episode, ticks and fleas 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:48.280 and yeah, anything that needs a blood meal, no, thank you. Uh. 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.439 Species of mosquitoes all over the world in about thirteen 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:55.720 genera right here in the US. And Chuck, there's actually three, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.520 the Big three is what they call them. Well, that's 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:01.800 what I call them, the bigg Jordan's Magic Johnson, Larry Bird. 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:06.000 You wouldn't include Lebron in that list, not yet, I 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.440 think already. He just surpassed like Jordan and two other 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:12.640 guys I think last night. Instead, he needs to win 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.720 some more championships before he's on that list. Jordan half, 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.520 he went like seven or six. Yeah, I hear that. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.199 I see your point. Lebron's got time though, So that 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:25.480 yeah he does. Jordan doesn't. No, Jordan's time is up, 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:29.440 he's finished. Um, sorry, Michael Jordan. We still think very 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.040 highly of you. He's gonna have someone he's gonna put 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:35.800 out a hit on both of us. Um, you know, 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:38.640 we we saw his plane once at a p DK airport. 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.360 Had to have been his plane his because it said 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.840 air Jordan's. It had the air Jordan's logo. But in 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.280 North Carolina blue, We're like, pretty sure that's Michael Jordan's airplane. 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:50.679 And it was nice. That's awesome. I wouldn't saw him 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.000 play baseball. When he played minor league baseball. Oh yeah, 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.440 it was pretty neat. He wasn't very good. No, he 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.280 went over four, but um, it was just neat. You know. 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:03.720 Sure to see Jordan's absolutely went over to Birmingham, Alabama. 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.200 Oh yeah, that's we played for them. Were the feeder 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.560 team for the White Sox. Uh yeah, I think so. 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.200 It shows how hard baseball is. You know, he's like 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:13.599 one of the greatest athletes of all time and he 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:17.880 cont a curveball. Yeah. Um, all right, I was talking 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:22.199 about the Big Three and you facetiously pretended I was 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.600 talking about basketball players, But now I was talking about 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:29.000 the big three species of mosquitoes that afflict the US. 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:30.640 All right, so break it down for me. What are 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:37.920 they aidis floodwater mosquitoes, right, yeah, and um, those include 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.880 the yellow fever mosquito, which basically does what it says 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:45.200 on the tin, spreads yellow fever. That's right, as advertised. Um. 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:47.640 And the Asian tiger mosquito, which I think is probably 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.760 my favorite mosquito. It's just because of how it looks. 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.720 Uh really they just look compact and striped and just 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:59.680 like little sleek meant for business. Yes. Um. The second 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.160 one is all the n O n O felis and 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:08.520 they breed in permanent fresh water. And uh, the malaria 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.440 mosquito is a member of that one, so that's not 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.959 that's when you want to avoid as well. Yeah, no good. 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.280 And then lastly there's q lex or selex. I think 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:19.160 it's q lex. Yeah, that's what I would say, c 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:22.360 U L e X. And they breed in um quiet 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:27.800 standing water, water that's entered introspective repose, you know, like 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:29.800 the stuff that builds up in like an old tire 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.760 or something like that. Yeah, they sound like the dumbad. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.720 What the standing water like in an old tire in 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:40.000 your yard, because that's going to breed the heck out 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:43.480 of some mosquitoes, especially sue lex or culex. They sound 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.360 like kind of the dummies of the mosquito world. They 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.319 only live for a few weeks in the summer. And um, 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:52.760 I think these are the ones that attack me most 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.200 in Georgia. I'm not mistaken. They're weak flyers, is what 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.280 it says. So yeah, and you can imagine those ones 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.240 that kind of like come at you like I can't 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.680 land very well, I just need to bump into you 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:08.680 with my probiscus um. But they actually the culex prefer 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:13.000 birds over humans, kind of like that weasel jumping on 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.760 the back of the woodpecker. That's right, I just saw. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:17.800 God I feel terrible when I think about a bird 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:21.320 being bitten by mosquitoes and not having an arm, just 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:25.480 a hand to smack it. Yeah, you know, I do 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:29.520 the same thing when they're around my animals too, smack them. Oh, 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:32.760 I just I don't like it. Oh No one eats 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:38.320 the blood meal off of my dog except me. All right, 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:41.079 how about we go splash our faces down with some 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:45.160 aqua velva and continue talking about the life cycle After 0:13:45.240 --> 0:14:06.400 this all right. We mentioned that mosquitoes were insects, and 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.240 that means that they hatched from eggs. That's right. Like 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:13.400 all insects, they could also be precocial birds, but in 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.200 this case they're not. They're insects. The females are gonna 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:20.320 lay their eggs in that water, Um, than the larva 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.200 and pupa stages are going to live in that water. 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:30.800 Pup potentially change into adults. Um, they leave the water 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.560 and they become the annoying pests that you hate so much. Yeah, 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:37.360 and I didn't realize this, but mosquitoes they can live 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.280 from a few days to several weeks, depending on the species, 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:43.920 depending on the environmental conditions. And I would have thought 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:48.240 that the they live a shorter period in colder weather, 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.120 but actually the opposite is true. They hunker down. Yeah, 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:54.680 they a female can stay alive in a cool, damp 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.520 spot over the wintering months until spring comes around. You 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:00.800 can get a blood meal and and lay some eggs, 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.360 which is why she she needs your blood. You have 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:07.440 proteins in your blood that she needs and she needs 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:09.320 it to lay some eggs. So let's say she's got 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:12.320 a blood meal, right, she's stuck you and she goes 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.000 and she lays some eggs, and she's going to lay 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.200 them in water. And again, depending on the species, different 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:21.240 types of water are gonna attract them. Like eighties, which 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.160 is a very tough word to say, it's almost all 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:27.040 vowels um. They're going to lay their eggs in a 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.120 place that will eventually water will come in contact with 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.440 it and carry them away other than directly into water. 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.160 If you've ever seen the standing water, like in that 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:38.880 old tire in your backyard, and you see a little 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:42.440 grouping of little white uh, looks like a lot of 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:46.080 little eggs floating together, those are mosquito. Those are eggs 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.000 floating together. That's exactly what they are. Exactly. They're sort 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.320 of laid there in a group. And I think you 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:56.160 said this, but it's one blood meal per hatch her 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:58.360 egg laying. Yeah, anytime they want to lay eggs, they 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:00.160 have to drink that blood meal. And is that the 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:02.720 only reason they drink the blood meal? That's all That's 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:04.720 what I saw. Yeah, So when you have a mosquito 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.840 biting you, that means that they have eggs that they're 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:12.600 ready to hatch. Yeah, so when you're killing that mosquito, 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:18.160 you're actually even better killing all of its future. Ye, well, 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.920 that makes me feel even better. So um, and then 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.480 you can also apparently you can tell what kind of 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:29.720 mosquito species is. Um, you're looking at based on what 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.160 hatches out of the eggs the larva, because the eggs 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:35.560 hatch and live, they spend the larval stage in the 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:40.000 pupil stage in water. I think like you said, that's right. 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:44.480 The larva are also called wigglers and um, if you've 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:48.240 ever seen that same group of eggs look like teeny tiny, 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:52.880 tiny little worms, that's the larva. Yeah, and so um 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.800 and awfully's larva will be parallel to the surface of 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.080 the water, like almost like floating right below it or 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.840 on the water surface. And then eight s and q 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:04.240 lex extend down into the water and they breathe through 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:08.800 air tubes like um bugs bunny using a read like 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:13.120 a bamboo read. Um, they're going to the larbarre gonna malt, 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.919 which is shedding their skin a few times. And I 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:21.399 believe that's on that fourth malt is when they become real, 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.240 is that right? No, they become pupa Okay, they become 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:27.320 the pupi pupie or tumblers is what they're called and 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.919 basically they stop eating and they get ready to spin 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:34.480 a sort of cocoon of sorts around themselves. Although they're 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:38.280 not spinning, they're enclosing themselves. And then they go in 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:42.480 and they turn into adults. They grow their wings, their 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.480 legs grow out, their probiscus grows out. If they're the 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.639 hippie male version, their hair grows out down to their shoulders. 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:53.280 They actually bust out of that case with air pressure. Yeah, 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:58.800 and I looked this up. This article makes it's it 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.919 makes appearances all for the Internet in various forms, like 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:05.000 it has been ripped off plenty of times. And I 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:09.240 can't find anybody who's like and this is how. This 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.800 is how they use their pressure to break open the cocoon. 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:15.320 I have no idea. The only thing I can think 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.439 of is that they flap their wings enough that it 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:23.520 increases the air pressure inside of the enclosure and it 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:25.879 breaks open. Oh see, I was gonna say they blow 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.280 it out their probiscus or something. But what if it's 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:30.480 a male like they don't have a probiscus. They can 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:33.920 blow it out mouth parts, they can blow it through 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.880 their mouthparts. No, I don't know. Yeah, I mean that's 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:41.879 that's is a legitimate and suggestion is mine or maybe 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:45.040 science got to that point and they're like who cares, Yeah, 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:50.919 just kill you know. Uh. When mosquitoes finally do spread 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:55.960 their wings and fly um like beautiful doves, they want 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.440 to go out and like most animals, find a mate 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.400 and mate so to make more of themselves. That's right, 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:05.480 it's like their job basically. And so the males they're 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:11.200 just sitting there feeding on plant nectar and they're like me, me, okay, me, yeah, 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.840 you great, And the females like, yes, um, let's do this. 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:16.679 And then I'm gonna go get a blood meal and 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.879 you go off and die and then I'll die later on. Yeah. 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:26.920 Pretty much not a lot of purpose to the mosquito's life. Well, 0:19:26.960 --> 0:19:29.480 we'll talk about that a little bit later. Um about 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.840 whether or not we even need mosquitoes. Oh good, I 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.800 would love to talk about that, Okay, but not right now. UM, 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:40.520 let's talk about the bites. When they bite you with 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:45.679 that probiscus um, they actually have an anti coagulant, a 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:49.479 protein in the saliva that they're gonna spit out on you, 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:52.520 and it's gonna keep keep that blood free. Flowing while 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:57.240 they're sucking it up exactly. Um, a female mosquito will 0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:01.800 eat until she's full. And apparently if you cut the 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:06.400 sensory nerve to her abdomen and cut off her indicator 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.280 that she is full, she just eating until she exploded. 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:13.320 Like that's what the sadist with too much time on 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:16.280 his hands does in very tiny tools. Yeah, he captures 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:19.560 some cs severs that thing so they can gorge themselves. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:23.199 Like here here's an arm go to town. Could you 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:25.879 imagine seeing that? O? My god, I kind of have 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:28.960 seen it. There was a Tabasco commercial from years ago 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:32.240 where like this kind of Cajun dude is eating pizza 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:35.760 with Tabasco on it, remember, and then like a mosquito 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.040 comes and like sucks his blood and flies off and 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.560 it's flying away and explodes in flames. So you have 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:47.040 seen it kind of on TV. That's very nice. Um, 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:49.840 After you get bitten, the saliba is what causes that 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:54.080 immune response that you know as the bumpy itch, but 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:58.320 science calls it a wheel w H E A L. Yeah, 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:02.880 that's the puffy area around the little center prick part. Yeah, 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:06.760 and that's your body's immune response being mounted against that 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:13.320 anticoagulant saliva that remains after the mosquitos flown off UM, 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.480 and the wheel will eventually get better and go away, 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.840 but the itch will remain. And the itch is an 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:22.720 indicator that your white blood cells are still fighting off 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:28.160 or breaking down that protein in the anticoagulant saliva. UM. 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:30.680 Have you ever heard the old wives tale that if 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:33.520 you put an X or cross with your fingernail, it 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:38.040 won't itch. M No, you never heard that. That was 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.239 a big, like childhood thing, like if you cross make 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:44.280 an X on the mosquito bite with your fingernail really deeply, 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:46.560 it won't itch anymore. And it always seemed to work. 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:48.280 And I looked that up and it's actually a thing. 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:54.439 Researchers at the American Allergy Institute UM released findings about 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:58.400 four years ago that UH said that's actually an effective technique, 0:21:58.920 --> 0:22:00.960 and they set it outproof form. They did studies on 0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:04.840 several hundred people and outperformed any anti itch remedies like 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:07.600 over the counter stuff that you could put on it, 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:12.840 and they they reckon that it works because UM it 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:17.240 limits the immune response from the binding of antibodies to 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:21.359 antigens in the saliva. Basically, it just digs deep and 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:26.040 disrupts that. So there you have it. Apparently it's true 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:32.840 bold vives right again. That's right, Um, so chuck. In 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:36.480 addition to having an itch from a bite and having 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:41.000 the anticoagulant protein from the mosquito saliva stuck in your skin, 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:45.280 it gets way worse than that as far as mosquitoes go. Mosquitoes, 0:22:45.359 --> 0:22:47.080 like I said, and I said it before and I'll 0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:51.280 say it again, mosquitoes are a disease vector to the 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:53.880 nth degree and one of the things that they're very 0:22:53.920 --> 0:22:56.240 famous for spreading. As a matter of fact, as we saw, 0:22:56.280 --> 0:22:59.480 there's a mosquito species that included a type called the 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:06.119 malaria s. Mosquito is malaria, and malaria is a viral infection. No, 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:09.239 I'm sorry, it's a parasite that you catch from the 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:13.840 anopolies mosquito. And it takes anywhere from a few days 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:17.320 to a few months for symptoms to develop as the 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:22.840 infection grows in your bloodstream. And um, you're in big trouble. Yeah, 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:27.760 you're gonna be headachy and muscle achy and feverish and chili. Uh. 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:31.359 It can kill you. Um. But they do have anti 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:35.040 malarial drugs and I think that's one of those you 0:23:35.080 --> 0:23:39.800 can get not a vaccine, but can't you take drugs 0:23:39.800 --> 0:23:43.160 before you go on a trip like that? Malaria? Yeah? 0:23:43.200 --> 0:23:47.040 And um, you can drink gin and tonics, which originally 0:23:47.080 --> 0:23:51.840 developed by the British when they took over India. Um, 0:23:51.880 --> 0:23:58.040 and we're exposed to malaria. Really. Yeah. Tonic water contains quinine, 0:23:58.160 --> 0:24:00.400 which is found in the bark of the chichon a tree, 0:24:00.760 --> 0:24:03.600 a k a. The fever tree. And um, it's been 0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:07.320