There are approximately 60 different species of mosquitoes that are known to be present in Canada. The life history is similar for all four genera except for overwintering and egg-laying behaviour. The Aedes species overwinter as eggs deposited around bodies of water or in soil depressions subject to flooding. The Culex, Culiseta and Anopheles species overwinter as mated females.
Female mosquitoes require a blood meal in order to produce eggs.
As the female pierces the skin of warm-blooded animals and feeds on the blood, she injects saliva into the victim. The irritation that occurs after a mosquito bites is due to this saliva. The female may travel from one victim to the next extracting blood and injecting saliva which has the potential to transmit disease-producing organisms from one host to another. The male does not suck blood but instead, feeds on the nectar of flowers, fruit juices and water. Mosquitoes require stagnant water in order to hatch and develop.