Do all mosquitoes get frozen to death every winter and then come back from warmer countries every year or do some of them manage to survive? And if that is the case, how is it possible?
In: Biology
One thing to note: For some reason many people never consider this, but there are arctic mosquitoes that are active during long periods of very cold weather.
They lay eggs late in fall and then die in the freezing cold. Come spring thaw, the slow warming up and all the standing water shocks the eggs and wha-la, a whole new batch. I live in North Dakota, and mosquitoes up here are the stars bird.
They lay eggs before they die off. The eggs don’t hatch until things warm up. This goes for most (but not all) insects and arachnids.
Mosquitoes spend the majority of their lives as aquatic larvae that feed on algae. These can survive freezing temperatures provided a body of water doesn’t freeze completely. Female mosquitoes lay eggs than can survive freezing, and hatch when the water thaws in the spring.
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