Males, as well as females, sip nectar, honeydew and fruit juices. Larvae are filter feeders, consuming aquatic bacteria and other microorganisms. A few species have larvae that are predaceous on other mosquito larvae. Mosquito species vary in aquatic larval habitats, ranging from ponds, puddles, containers and tree holes to other sources of standing, slow moving, fresh or salty water. Large numbers of mosquitoes can develop in swamps, tidal marshes, flood water and rice fields.
Mosquitoes can fly and disperse with the wind.
Larvae and pupae can be detected by swirling a fine mesh net through standing water. Suction traps with light as the attractant are available to collect mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can also be attracted using carbon dioxide or dry ice. Saliva, injected by females while engorging on blood causes itching. See Mosquito, Pest of Man and Animal.