By Jill Riddell
The mosquitoes drift out into the open, each intent on accomplishing the next task in its life cycle. Some males visit flowers for sips of nectar, dipping the tips of their proboscises into the fluid and gently inhaling it. Other males head into a swarm that forms over the chimney; once inside, they begin to vibrate violently in preparation for mating. Sometimes a female will venture into the swarm and do it right there and then, but more often a male leaves the swarm and uses his highly sensitive, hairy antennae to track her high-pitched whine. If she’s located and receptive, the male flies beneath her and faces her while grabbing hold. They will either stay aloft, performing the act on the wing, or settle on a nearby twig for a few romantic seconds.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
She probes the canal of the blood vessel and begins sucking Jay’s body fluids up one tube in the fascicle, while injecting saliva down another. The saliva from some species of mosquitoes acts as an anticoagulant, but its main purpose is to increase the blood supply in the vessel. Lisa uses a pump to draw blood up into her head, then another pump located in her thorax to push it into her stomach.
All of this has made me wonder, does Jay disdain the outdoors because he’s so reactive to insect bites? It’d certainly make me think twice about going outside if I looked like that when I came back in. Or does his lack of contact with the outdoors cause him to become overly sensitive when he’s forced to come in contact with it? All I know is I wouldn’t trade skins with him for anything.
