They annoy and bite humans and animals. The bite can be painful, as well as annoying, resulting in loss of property values and production efficiency of animals. Adult mosquitoes are familiar insects, but we seldom observe them closely. They are true flies, with a single pair of narrow wings that have a fringe of scales on the margins and veins. They have three pairs of long, slender legs.
Mouthparts are an elongate beak.
Several species are capable of transmitting potentially fatal human diseases such as encephalitis and malaria. Yellow fever and malaria are two of the devastating diseases that mosquitoes transmit worldwide. In Delaware, mosquitoes may help transmit the viruses that cause encephalitis, in humans and horses, and heartworm in dogs. In both diseases, other organisms such as birds, squirrels, and small mammals are also involved in the life cycle. Life Cycle Water is essential for development of mosquitoes, which go through four life stages.