Warning - Mosquitos have some sort of alliance

Hey everyone, I have a little bit of strange info for you. It's possibly extremely useless, but interesting I think.

So at my parents place they have a fish pond. It's nice and there are big goldfish in there, some over 10 years old. There is nice rocks all surrounding the pond and it's fun to sit there and toss in food pellets to the fishes and watch the frogs etc. After a while, it always happens too, a mosquito will appear and attack you, followed by more. Not a swarm, but a new one ever 30 seconds or so. Usually they will attack you and you smack them off. One thing the fishes absolutely love is to eat a freshly deaded mosquito, so you just toss the dead thing into the pond and they will gulp it up.

But here is the strange part. If another mosquito sees an injured or dead mosquito on the pond surface, it will actually fly over, land on it, and then fly it out of danger!! No joking, and this always happens (Unless the fish is faster). Sometimes the mosquitos will have to glide a bit on the water to get enough speed to take the injured one away, but sometimes they are strong enough to just latch on and airlift it straight up.

Has anyone ever seen this? I have seen it for year after year after year, it is always the same... so there must be some sort of mosquito alliance we don't know about yet.

Any know more about this strange behavior?

You're kidding right?
2nd

a reply to: FlySolo

No, I am 100% serious. I wish I had a video but I've never had the opportunity to tape it.

I doubt it is only these mosquitos that do this. If you have a fish pond and mosquitos nearby that attack you when you are by the pond, give it a try and see. Don't go out attacking the mosquitos, but if they attack you defend yourself obviously, then watch and see.

a reply to: DumpMaster

For ten years we sat by our pond part of everyday watching the fish and the frogs and feeding them, and no have never seen this happen. We kill a mosquito and throw it in and the fish eat it. Same story different ending.


If you can film this you would be famous I think...

They are solitary

According to this they should not be able to even find the injured one.

Mosquitos find each other by scent and by the sound of their wing vibrations when they fly.

We know they find us by sensing our heat, moisture in the air, and the breath of animals.

www.biokids.umich.edu...

LOL, Mosqitou coast guard. WE have them prety bad where i live, They usually come in with so much speed that you can feel them hit you and bounce off. If there is one insect that has no purpose in this world, its the mosqitou. lol Thank God we dont have to deal with Malaria, on a ridiculous level like most other countries

a reply to: Char-Lee

Next time I am out at my parents house I will try and get a video of it. It happens so very often, and year after year after year too..

I really wish I had a video. dang.

I know it is common for ants to help each other out, first I have heard about mosquitoes. Kinda does make you wonder just how smart insects are. I did help a dragonfly out once that got its wings caught in a spiders web around the house. The dragonfly broke away from the web ok, but was having trouble freeing its wings. Every now and again I would see the dragon fly around, a few months latter it looked like its off spring also stopping in for a bit then on its way.

originally posted by: kwakakev
I know it is common for ants to help each other out, first I have heard about mosquitoes. Kinda does make you wonder just how smart insects are. I did help a dragonfly out once that got its wings caught in a spiders web around the house. The dragonfly broke away from the web ok, but was having trouble freeing its wings. Every now and again I would see the dragon fly around, a few months latter it looked like its off spring also stopping in for a bit then on its way.

Yes ants have a social structure mosquitos are not supposed to.

originally posted by: kwakakev
I know it is common for ants to help each other out, first I have heard about mosquitoes. Kinda does make you wonder just how smart insects are. I did help a dragonfly out once that got its wings caught in a spiders web around the house. The dragonfly broke away from the web ok, but was having trouble freeing its wings. Every now and again I would see the dragon fly around, a few months latter it looked like its off spring also stopping in for a bit then on its way.

Yes ants have a social structure mosquitos are not supposed to.

Well there sure are a lot of kinds, I wish there were none of the biters! I can't find anyone who has seen or any report of any interactions between mosquitoes other than mate and leave. You could become famous!

There are 3,500 named species of mosquito, of which only a couple of hundred bite or bother humans. They live on almost every continent and habitat, and serve important functions in numerous ecosystems. "Mosquitoes have been on Earth for more than 100 million years," says Murphy, "and they have co-evolved with so many species along the way." Wiping out a species of mosquito could leave a predator without prey, or a plant without a pollinator

I have autoimmune that includes neuropathies so I can't feel it when I get bit by one. However, I take great delight in knowing that they are getting some pretty messed up blood when they stick their straw-nose in me for a drink.

a reply to: Char-Lee

Yes ants have a social structure mosquitos are not supposed to.

Have you ever been attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes? If you have then you would have experienced some sense of their social structure. In the tropics they can get pretty bad, one night out in no where land I would estimate 1-2 thousand of them where just outside my tent screaming from hunger trying to get me. I was not game to go outside, there was enough of them to make me really sick and do some serious damage.

The female mosquitos are the ones making the high-pitched whine. The male mosquitos go after females. So maybe he detects a female and picks her up.

This sounds interesting, and possible. If nobody ever observed it, then there would be no evidence of it happening so science would say it does not happen. I'll have to try this next time I am fishing. I like real science.

Even scientists are bound by lack of seeing what is out there, they do not pay attention to things like this. They use bug dope.

originally posted by: kwakakev
a reply to: Char-Lee

Yes ants have a social structure mosquitos are not supposed to.

Have you ever been attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes? If you have then you would have experienced some sense of their social structure. In the tropics they can get pretty bad, one night out in no where land I would estimate 1-2 thousand of them where just outside my tent screaming from hunger trying to get me. I was not game to go outside, there was enough of them to make me really sick and do some serious damage.

Lol yes for some reason i am a favorite of theirs. But that does not make them social! the males don't bite as you probably know and the females are just desperate to get our blood so they can lay their eggs and die.

The simplistic answer here.

How long do they live?
Most mosquitos only live for a year or so, and spend most of their lives as aquatic larvae. The adults usually only survive for a few weeks, but in some species the adults survive the winter, and the larval stage is short.

How do they behave?
Some mosquitos are active during daylight, some at night. They don't have territories, but may stay near a body of water where they can lay eggs. They are solitary animals, and come together only to mate. However, you may sometimes see clouds of thousands or millions of mosquitos. This is because they produce many offspring and need certain kinds of habitats. Because so many mosquitos are in the same area, they appear as clouds.

www.biokids.umich.edu...

Care Flight for mosquitoes? You're having a leg-pull aren't you??

a reply to: rickymouse

You folks have put me on a mission to get this video. Next time I am out that way I will definitely record it and post it here.
Also from the looks of the comments, I should probably turn monetization on, lol.

It blows my mind that there is no info on this, or that nobody has ever seen it before. I've shown my bro, wife, mother, sister..

Is this thread exactly 3 months too late?



I am in the "pics or it didn't happen" crowd, but mostly because that would be the most interesting thing to see happen. Especially if it is repeated.

Ive never seen that happened, cannibals!!!

I will say this; mosquitos love my blood. After a tennis match last Monday, Im sitting outside of my car with my friend/opponent getting ready to leave and quicken my departure due to mosquitos. (About 5 minutes was spent outside). I find out after I get home to examine the damage, that I was bitten 7 times! Within those 5 minutes and my friend/opponent had been bitten 0 times. This happens all the time when relaxing at my friend's pool (a different friend... Its true, I have more than 1 friend!).

I suppose its blood type or some other reason but if they have an alliance, Im definitely an enemy/tasty treat.

a reply to: DumpMaster

Yeah, most people worry about the next mosquito biting them and ignore what happens after they swat them. I have seen insects respond to things in ways that show friendship. I am sure a person who owns a bee hive knows the bees have some sort of friendly side. They work with them every day. I think all insects have an intellect we do not comprehend. They do some strange things.

Twice now I have seen spiders flying around. They go up and down like they are using a glider, with a strand of web on each side about two inches long, handling it like a skydiver would guide a parachute. I watched the first spider for a few minutes before it flew away. I got exited and researched it. I found that this is not uncommon, spiders do fly like this. There is actually a lot of stuff on this. en.wikipedia.org...

I guess I didn't find anything new, but it opened my eyes. The spiders were controlling these webs with their feet to glide them to where they wanted to go. Maybe we shouldn't let people who are scared of spiders know they can fly.

originally posted by: rickymouse
a reply to: DumpMaster

Yeah, most people worry about the next mosquito biting them and ignore what happens after they swat them. I have seen insects respond to things in ways that show friendship. I am sure a person who owns a bee hive knows the bees have some sort of friendly side. They work with them every day. I think all insects have an intellect we do not comprehend. They do some strange things.

Twice now I have seen spiders flying around. They go up and down like they are using a glider, with a strand of web on each side about two inches long, handling it like a skydiver would guide a parachute. I watched the first spider for a few minutes before it flew away. I got exited and researched it. I found that this is not uncommon, spiders do fly like this. There is actually a lot of stuff on this. en.wikipedia.org...

I guess I didn't find anything new, but it opened my eyes. The spiders were controlling these webs with their feet to glide them to where they wanted to go. Maybe we shouldn't let people who are scared of spiders know they can fly.

Jesus ricky don't tell me spiders can fly. Virginia is spider and mosquito heaven. We have Wolf Spiders here, you need a shotgun for those, if they fly, danger Will Robinson.