Question from Patty in Spain:
Can mosquitoes bite you through your clothes?
Answer:
The mosquitoes will only bite through thin, tight-fitting clothes. But considering that Aedes aegypti, the Dengue mosquito, for instance prefers to bite as low to the floor as possible, your main concern really is that you not wear ‘dress’ socks during the day if you happen to be in a mosquito infested environment. Then again, that is if you are going to be sitting still in shaded areas near dwellings – not say going shopping, for a walk, sea bathing or things like that.
THING YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT MOSQUITOES.... It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood. (Sources: discovermagazine.com / anannimos.blogspot.com) - Now you know.
There is no way of telling whether the mosquitoes are male or female unless they can be identified. For it is entirely possible that the mosquitoes could be female but had not taken a blood meal. And of course, the males do not feed on human beings.
The way for you to tell whether the mosquitoes are male or female is for you examine them in tact. Those at the foot of your bed would be in tact since you did not swat, clap or squish them. You can check them out with your naked eyes, I assure you. However, if your eyes are likely to fail you, a magnifying glass will help.
Now, look at the head of a mosquito. There is a proboscis, the long slender tube they use to draw blood. On either side of the proboscis are the antennae. If the antennae are bushy, the mosquito is male.
Clue: imagine a tree with no leaves; that is how I would describe the antennae of the female mosquito.
Hi there,
I am very curious how I found mosquitoes dead at the foot of my bed, not due to my swapping.
On such findings, I would gather them up and squash them for blood, but there would be none. Are they male mosquitoes?
Amazed.
‘Dress socks’ are the thin socks made of silk, cashmere, or various combinations of cotton, polyester and nylon that are used with formal shoes and formal and semi-formal suits. Recommended to avoid mosquito bites around the ankles would be Bobby socks, the type you would use with sneakers and work boots.
In your aforeplaced reply, not wear dress socks is ambiguous. What socks other than dress socks do you recommend…?