Types

• While there are thousands of mosquito species, there are three main types: aedes, anopheles and culex. Aedes mosquitoes travel as far as 75 miles to lay eggs in flood waters, which has earned them the nickname "flood water mosquitoes." They feed mostly on mammals, notoriously on humans, and they spread yellow fever. Anopheles mosquitoes are known for spreading malaria in humans. They mostly breed in clear water, like in lakes. Culex mosquitoes breed in standing water. They have small wings, making it difficult for them to fly far, so they spend most of their lives near where they were born.
  
  

Eggs

• Female mosquitoes lay eggs one at a time. Some species lay them in rafts, which are hundreds of eggs connected together. Others lay them in damp soil where flood waters will pick them up, and they won't hatch until water submerges them. It usually takes about 48 hours for a mosquito egg to hatch.
  
  

Larvae

• Once mosquitoes hatch from their eggs, they spend their larval stages living under water, only coming to the surface to breathe. Most mosquitoes have breathing tubes called siphons, but a few species don't. Larvae feed on algae and other small organisms in the water. They shed their skin four times as they grow.
  
  

Pupae

• Mosquitoes spend about two days in a pupil stage as they undergo a metamorphosis from larvae to adults. Mosquito pupae float on the top of water and breathe through tubes called trumpets. The mosquito pupal rests and doesn't feed. After two days, mosquitoes split their pupal skins and are adults.
  
  

Adults

• Mosquitoes begin adulthood by spending a few days near the surface of water as they dry off and harden their skin. They can't fly until their wings dry. The females spend their lives feeding on animal blood. If they are born in late summer, they hibernate until early spring. Females mate with males usually within the first three to five days of adulthood.