With temperatures exceeding 41°C in many places, will mosquitoes be "heated" to death?
1. Mosquitoes can't stand it when the temperature exceeds 35℃
What everyone calls mosquitoes "heatstroke", we all joke that mosquitoes enter "estivation". In fact, the most suitable temperature for mosquitoes to survive is between 22°C and 32°C. If the temperature exceeds 35°C for a long time, mosquitoes will be overwhelmed and will hide in grass, shade, stairways, civil air defense projects and other places to escape the heat. In addition, too high a temperature will lead to fewer small pools of water on the road, and mosquitoes will lack a "hotbed" to lay their eggs.
2. High temperatures above 40°C are very lethal to mosquitoes
The several stages of mosquito development from eggs to larvae to pupae are all in the water. They are particularly sensitive to water temperature. Studies have found that mosquitoes reproduce and develop fastest when the water temperature is 15 to 26°C, which is the temperature that mosquitoes love most.
When the water body exceeds 35°C, mosquito eggs, larvae, and pupae will stop developing or even die in large numbers if they are in the water. When the temperature is above 40°C, water in outdoor ponds and puddles is constantly evaporated. After exposure to the sun, the water temperature is so high that mosquitoes cannot lay eggs at all. Female mosquitoes that bite humans usually have a survival period of only 28 to 35 days. Therefore, if the weather is hot for ten and a half days, the number of mosquitoes will decrease significantly.
Extended information
Mosquitoes are cold-blooded animals, so their metabolic processes, life history, lifespan, and reproductive and nutritional cycles are all controlled by the temperature of the environment. They cannot control their own temperature, but they can survive by slowing down their metabolic processes at low temperatures. The average optimal temperature for the development of most mosquito species is about 25 to 27 degrees.
At a low temperature of 10 degrees Celsius or a high temperature exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, its development completely stops, and the mortality rate is very high. The respiratory organ of mosquitoes is the tracheal system. Therefore, they are generally particularly sensitive to dryness, so indoor mosquitoes often concentrate in places with sufficient moisture, while exogenous mosquitoes mostly stay on plants near the ground. Therefore, appropriate rainfall and sunshine will accelerate the large-scale breeding of external mosquitoes.
It can be seen that the growth environment, temperature and rainfall of mosquitoes are the main factors affecting the survival of mosquitoes.
Reference materials: People's Daily Online - Ningbo Disease Control Department: High temperatures persisted for half a month, and a large number of Ningbo mosquitoes were killed by the heat