Female mosquitoes need blood from vertebrates to lay eggs.
Mosquitoes are nuisance insects that annoy people and spread disease. While mosquitoes do not offer positive contributions to the ecosystem outside of being a food source for birds and other creatures, they are ubiquitous and important to understand. High school biology experiments about mosquitoes can lead to better understanding of the insect and why it behaves the way it does.
Attraction Experiments
One type of experiment on mosquitoes for a high school biology class is an experiment studying what factors attract or repel mosquitoes. Students can measure a "swat" rate, or how many mosquitoes a person can swat on themselves in a period of time. It is advisable to cover as much skin as possible while conducting mosquito experiments. Test to see if different colors attract more mosquitoes, if active humans attract more or fewer mosquitoes than inactive humans, what weather conditions encourage mosquitoes, and what time of year mosquitoes are most active.
Egg-Laying Behavior
Another area to study is the egg-laying habits and preferences of mosquitoes. These studies are easiest to do with container-bred mosquitoes in a controlled environment, but a student can make observations in the wild about the egg-laying habits of the pesky creatures. Mosquitoes lay eggs in small bodies of water, so examine which bodies attract the most mosquitoes. For example, study what color of water attracts them, or if containers of water up high in trees attract egg-laying mosquitoes more than water on the ground. Another observation could be to see if mosquitoes avoid bodies of water that already contain eggs.
Egg-Hatching Experiments
Many species of mosquitoes, including the plentiful Eastern Treehole, Asian Tiger and Yellow Fever mosquitoes, lay eggs above the water line, then hatch after the water rises and submerges the eggs. They will not hatch until submerged. See what difference such factors as added oxygen in the water or the presence of mosquito larva have on the speed of eggs hatching.
Repellents
Conduct interesting and useful experiments determining what repellents are most effective in limiting mosquitoes. In an enclosed area, fill balloons of the same color with warm water. Mark them, then spray each balloon with a chemical or natural repellent. See which seems to be the most effective. Try non-liquid deterrents such as moving air (fans) and mosquito nets as well.
Tags: attract more, bodies water, egg-laying habits, most effective, school biology