Would someone tell me why mosquito bites itch?

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Would someone tell me why mosquito bites itch?

Hi David - the going to sleep thing hasn't worked - SO :) according to wisegeek...

Mosquitoes are a bit like flying syringes. Their large needle nose, called a proboscis, is ideal for quickly landing on a victim, withdrawing a bit of blood and then taking off for the next target. Individuals may not notice a mosquito bite initially, but within an hour or two after a bite, they may have raised red bumps that itch like crazy. When a mosquito bites, she leaves behind saliva that the body reacts to, causing a (usually) mild allergic response in the form of itchiness.

The saliva that a mosquito leaves serves the insect well, since it works as an anti-coagulant. These means the mosquito can quickly draw blood without catching a person's attention. The saliva causes the body to produce a histamine response, so the skin around the bite area gets itchy.

Of course only the girlies bite :) and it's not personal... they've developed extreme sensitivity to CO2 in the air, and once a female picks up an increased concentration of it (from as far away as 75 feet) she flies back and forth through the CO2 plume until she locates her victim :) then it's YUMMY time... for her of course :)

Would someone tell me why mosquito bites itch?

Hi David - the going to sleep thing hasn't worked - SO :) according to wisegeek...

Mosquitoes are a bit like flying syringes. Their large needle nose, called a proboscis, is ideal for quickly landing on a victim, withdrawing a bit of blood and then taking off for the next target. Individuals may not notice a mosquito bite initially, but within an hour or two after a bite, they may have raised red bumps that itch like crazy. When a mosquito bites, she leaves behind saliva that the body reacts to, causing a (usually) mild allergic response in the form of itchiness.

The saliva that a mosquito leaves serves the insect well, since it works as an anti-coagulant. These means the mosquito can quickly draw blood without catching a person's attention. The saliva causes the body to produce a histamine response, so the skin around the bite area gets itchy.

Of course only the girlies bite :) and it's not personal... they've developed extreme sensitivity to CO2 in the air, and once a female picks up an increased concentration of it (from as far away as 75 feet) she flies back and forth through the CO2 plume until she locates her victim :) then it's YUMMY time... for her of course :)

Okay, I was going to ask what the larger ecological and evolutionary purpose was for the histamine response, but I suppose it just doesn't matter to them that we itch. I just wish they would take our blood and leave us not knowing about it, but there's no advantage to them in doing that.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Homemade Mosquito Trap

I forgot to buy a bottle of soda. As soon as I get a bottle,
I'm going to try this. I already have the other things.

http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/homemade-mosquito-trap/

If you try it, let me know if it works for you.

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~Sue~

I was out mowing my back yard today. I pissed off a lot of grasshoppers! I saw
a small toad trying to escape from the path of the blades, so I stopped, picked it up,
and relocated it to a safe place. But the best thing for me was getting to see this
beauty. It's a wolf spider carrying an egg sack. I've seen a lot of wolf spiders, including
a couple with babies on her back, but I never thought about how the babies got there.
Now I realize that she constructs an egg sac and carries it around with her until the
little creatures emerge and climb up onto her back. I was afraid I'd lose her between
the time I first saw her and the time I got out there with my phone/camera. I almost
did. But while I was looking for her I saw yet another, smaller wolf spider with an egg
sac. I didn't photograph that one. I was after the big prize! Isn't she marvelous?!


.

nope nope nope nope nope

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Reality Internet Personality

nope nope nope nope nope

He he he he he he :) bet those new buttons are tempting :)

Is this better...?

Speaking of mosquitoes...

http://wwlp.com/2014/07/19/deadly-mosquito-virus-reported-in-eastern-mass/

"Mosquitoes: we’ve talked about them for months, and for the first time this year
mosquitoes have infected someone in Massachusetts with eastern equine encephalitis,
or triple E."

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~Sue~

Speaking of mosquitoes...

http://wwlp.com/2014/07/19/deadly-mosquito-virus-reported-in-eastern-mass/

"Mosquitoes: we’ve talked about them for months, and for the first time this year
mosquitoes have infected someone in Massachusetts with eastern equine encephalitis,
or triple E."

That IS a disturbing development Sue :( I think environmental conditions are getting more and more favourable for these guys - well girls when it comes to being bitten of course - boys just suck on plant sap I think... not to mention the diseases they can carry. :/

World's largest aquatic insect specimen found in China



http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/22/world/asia/giant-insect-china/index.html

I have found the occasional Dobson Fly on my house, but never one
quite that big. (Thank God.)

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~Sue~

World's largest aquatic insect specimen found in China



http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/22/world/asia/giant-insect-china/index.html

I have found the occasional Dobson Fly on my house, but never one
quite that big. (Thank God.)

GAAAACK!!!!!

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Good grief! Used to have to rapidly re-submerge myself when swimming in different parts of africa when big things like that were hovering above the water - but they were NEVER that big!

World's largest aquatic insect specimen found in China



http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/22/world/asia/giant-insect-china/index.html

I have found the occasional Dobson Fly on my house, but never one
quite that big. (Thank God.)

Beautiful! (but not something I want to find under my pillow......)

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

World's largest aquatic insect specimen found in China



http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/22/world/asia/giant-insect-china/index.html

I have found the occasional Dobson Fly on my house, but never one
quite that big. (Thank God.)

Beautiful! (but not something I want to find under my pillow......)

Or have fly into my face... :) not with those sharp protuberances anyway... :)

Take it back :)

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That thing, GAAAACK is right.

The only bugs I worry about are small moths, I setup a text file to see how many moths are coming in and when, I've been doing this since the 18th of this month noting how many got in and that I got rid of, since the 20th I've seen none thankfully. 1 on the 18th and 2 on the 20th and on the 20th they were separated by at least 8 hours from each other.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

That thing, GAAAACK is right.

The only bugs I worry about are small moths, I setup a text file to see how many moths are coming in and when, I've been doing this since the 18th of this month noting how many got in and that I got rid of, since the 20th I've seen none thankfully. 1 on the 18th and 2 on the 20th and on the 20th they were separated by at least 8 hours from each other.

Vic, got invaded by moths a couple of summers ago.
I hate bugs. :( Took my vacuum cleaner out and killed those Mo*&*^%
F@#$%$#. My cats helped also.

Only had a couple since then.

Serial bug killer,
Lynn

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I get quite a few moths in my house lately in different sizes and colors, lovely! The crickets also returned, I just love the sound they make:) No mosquitoes here though, not even in the Summer...

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Moths often come into your house with things like birdseed. If you
buy birdseed, keep the whole bag in the freezer for about 48 hours
to kill the moth larvae.

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~Sue~

Moths often come into your house with things like birdseed. If you
buy birdseed, keep the whole bag in the freezer for about 48 hours
to kill the moth larvae.

No birdseed here, only Dwarf Hamster food.

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Moths often come into your house with things like birdseed. If you
buy birdseed, keep the whole bag in the freezer for about 48 hours
to kill the moth larvae.

No birdseed here, only Dwarf Hamster food.

shh - don't tell anyone... I'm off topic... Julie... how big is a dwarf hamster? :)

Got a bit cross with one of my cats last night. Normally when I hurtle across the room with my hands outstretched to save a daddy long legs or spider or moth or ladybird (you get the idea :)) my furries all scatter to the four winds. Not Jet last night... oh no! One big fat swipe of his paw and there was one very beautiful but very dead moth. He did have the grace to look slightly ashamed and did seem quite disappointed that it had given up playing so quickly...