This type of feeding, called filter-feeding, is also practiced by larvae of black flies and by those of several other nonblood sucking families of flies. Mosquito larvae of the genus Aedes are not dependent on particles already in suspension but can create them by rasping dead leaves and other submerged organic material with the comb-tipped hairs of their labral brushes. The sharp-tipped mandibles can also break up larger particles into ones small enough to be eaten. The pupae, shaped like tiny tadpoles with the tail tucked underneath, normally rest motionless at the water surface, breathing through a pair of funnel-shaped structures, called trumpets, located just behind the head. When disturbed, they can swim rapidly to the bottom and hide among the debris there, an ability almost unique among insect pupae.
Adults emerge from their pupal skins at the water surface.
When free of its pupal case, an adult can stand on the surface until its wings harden. Some species then undergo dispersal flights, which may take them kilometres from their emergence site. Males then assemble in certain areas appropriate to the species, usually clearings in the forest, where they take flight and form swarms at daybreak and again at dusk, in hopes of intercepting a female. Unmated females are also attracted to these clearings, and the hum of their approaching wing beats is detected by the long whorls of erect hairs on the antennal segments of the males. After mating, the male presumably returns to the swarm, whereas the female leaves the area to begin her quest for a suitable host and a meal of blood.