Talk:Mosquito

Species diversity pattern of mosquitoes breeding in different habitats

It is fascinating how Mosquitoes can breed in different temperatures, but what is most interesting is that Mosquitoes can breed in one place or another temporarily, or they can choose one place permanently to breed. This makes the mosquito species diverse because of how well a different species can adapt to different habitats.

Lubna et al from the Brazilian Journal of Biology (Sánchez Gutierrez et al., 2023) Econt6 (talk) 00:16, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, it may be so. Of course there are many species of mosquito, and it is not surprising that habitats can vary, both by species and dynamically. The article already mentions the use of temporary puddles, for example. Chiswick Chap (talk) 10:10, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

The range of habitats is almost certainly a driver of speciation, as it is with most animals. Some mosquito species specialise in temporary bodies of water, and these can be man-made, for example water that collects in abandoned car tyres. Others are very location-specific, for example Aedes sollicitans only breeds in salt marshes.

Mosquitoes are well adapted for what they do, but their behaviour is driven by quite simple cues. When mosquitoes breed in old car tyres, I expect it is because the water is producing the same chemical cues that would come from a natural puddle. Pchown (talk) 14:14, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

So the argument is that mosquito habitat versatility favours their evolution. Seems reasonable. I've searched with Google Scholar on the names, journal, and date given above, but cannot find the implied paper (its title would be a useful clue). I've also searched more generally; there are *heaps* of articles on mosquito evolution, but I don't see anything quite like this. Chiswick Chap (talk) 13:27, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: The Microbiology of College Life

This article is currently the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 22 January 2024 and 6 May 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ully16 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Ully16 (talk) 16:43, 19 April 2024 (UTC)