Several batches may be laid by one female. Usually, bloodsucking females require a blood meal before producing each batch of eggs. Eggs of most mosquitoes hatch in two to three days, whereas others require a drying period and may remain dormant for many months or years, then hatch within minutes or days after being flooded by rainfall or a tide. Most larvae come to the surface of the water for air. Pupae are comma-shaped forms, called tumblers because of their tumbling motion when disturbed in the water.
Pupae usually transform into adults two to three days later.
In another one to two days, females are ready to bite. The time required from egg hatch to adult may be as short as ten days or as long as seven months, depending on environmental conditions. Cool weather will delay development. Some mosquitoes have only one generation each year, whereas others may have four or more generations each year, building to large populations by late summer. The usual range of migration is five to ten miles.