It’s itchy!!!

It’s not so nice to come home from a walk in the forest with 32 mosquito bites, they swell up and go hard and just itch and itch and itch.

Mosquitoes can be really irritating, but they are also fascinating animals that are worth a closer look. They are usually small and delicate, with long, thin legs and a long, thin proboscis. The mosquito’s proboscis is actually a refined instrument. Even though it is less than ¼ mm in diameter, it is composed of no less than four long, sharp sawblades. One to pierce a hole in the skin, one straw to suck up the blood with, and a sleeve to hold everything. When a mosquito has pierced the skin, it injects some other substances that make the blood flow faster and stop it from coagulating. This is what makes the bite itch.

Only the female mosquitoes suck blood. They need lots of nutrients to be able to develop their eggs. Male mosquitoes don’t sting at all. They are, however, the ones that make that annoying buzzing noise that can make it almost impossible to fall asleep on a hot summer’s night.

If you dare to look, it can be really interesting to observe a mosquito while it’s biting. Its entire body moves while it sucks the blood and its abdomen swells up like a big, pink bag.