Researcher protects himself from mosquito bites in the forest.
Mosquitoes are common to many areas around the world. In some areas, they are major contributors to human death because they can be carriers of major diseases. Humans who don't appreciate it when they get an itchy bite from a mosquito, but as a major food source for many birds, bats and other insects they are useful. Because of all these things, there is a lot of research that surrounds them and also a lot of interest in learning about them. This makes them a great topic for projects. Does this Spark an idea?
The Human Affect
Counting bite ratios can be a bad idea.
Researchers allow mosquitoes to bite them repeatedly to get a mosquito count, but students should wear repellent and clothes that cover exposed skin. They can then count how many times they swat a mosquito within a specified time range for their projects. Ideas to add to this project could be to see if a person's clothing color attracts fewer mosquitoes, or if bites change with the weather or at different times of the day. They could also consider how long they are out in a season.
Ecology and Egg Laying
Mosquitoes may act differently in varying weather conditions.
Using container traps, students can study egg laying conditions and timing. By making each trap different in it's habitat. Then count each traps eggs to see which areas were preferred. Discoveries may include finding out if mosquitoes will lay eggs where others are present, if they care about the waters color, or if they have a preference of being near a food source. Weather and the height of a trap may also be issues, so students should find out if that is true as well.
Hatching Mosquito eggs
Mosquito eggs react differently in the Autumn.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs above a water line and wait for it to rise. The eggs only hatch if they are submerged after a rain, which causes the oxygen level to decline. The student should discuss how this influences the hatching of the eggs by adding air to some and leaving others alone. They might also determine the mortality rate of eggs in the winter and how the length of daylight hours changes their hatch rate.
Mosquito Larvae
Using mosquito larvae can be quite educational. Try placing them under a microscope to see how they move. Rate the larvae growth by metering how much food certain groups are given as opposed to others, using ground dog food and make notations on each. Another project included in this section might regard predators. Enclose a predator specimen within an enclosure with the larvae for a 24-hour period and then see how many are eaten. Discuss how different predators diets vary in regards to the larvae.
Tags: food source, from mosquito, Mosquito eggs, students should