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Lights on.. Mosquitoes gone!

Anonymous | Thu Dec 16 55255 19:38:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)



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It was almost 2:00 AM. I woke up suddenly due to stinging pain and based on the buzzing sound near my ears I understood it was the mosquitoes. Staying on the 9th floor of a high rise building with frequent pest control and mosquito fogging are not adequate methods of controlling mosquitoes.

For a few weeks my sleep was being disturbed by these mosquitoes. I tried killing them using an electric bat but, once I turned the lights on there were no mosquitoes around me, no matter how long I waited for them to come out. Suddenly, I saw a mosquito on my hand. While the initial reaction was to kill it, I changed my mind and instead started taking a video of it. No matter how much I shook my hand, it was busy piercing and sucking blood.(video-1)

Five minutes later it had enough of my blood and removed its proboscis. (Video-2)

After shocking it to death, I wanted to observe my blood under a foldscope. I placed the mosquito gently on the depression slide and covered it with a cover slip and sealed it with cellophane carefully. (Photo)

Its stomach was filled with my blood. I was sure it was my blood as mosquito blood has no color. I wanted to specifically observe its mouth part with which it pierced my skin. Under the foldscope, I saw many tubes which were interconnected. (Video-3)

Suddenly, I noticed rhythmic movement in the dorsal side of the mosquito. Oh! It was not dead. It was just under shock from the electric bat. (Video-4)

I assume the tubes which I saw were trachea. I also noticed one organ which was in rhythmic movement. It could be the heart of the mosquito. Could I be right in my observations? Let me know your thoughts.
(Video-5)



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Type of Sample
insects-arachnids
Foldscope Lens Magnification
140x

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