Caught in Yangon, Myanmar

I saw tiny hairs on mosquitoes under foldscope.

It is amazing how these tiny “hairs”, setae are covering different parts of the body. Insects generally use setae (sing: seta) to stick to surfaces and for movement. Different kinds of mosquitoes have different lengths and sizes of setae and in different part of their bodies. Mosquito larvae also have setae. Here, mosquitoes might use setae in different parts of the body to perform different tasks.

Cool reading on insect features: Schroeder et al (2018) Advanced Materials