What is the difference between a normal mosquito and a malaria mosquit

Mosquitoes are the most menacing pest on the earth and the source of millions of deaths. They are so tiny that get anywhere without any difficulty. These little flying insects are popular for carrying diseases and transmit to humans.

Most common irritation they give us by buzzing in our ear all the time and with their bites itchiness. But it turns into a problem when the mosquito bite gives you malaria, dengue, typhoid, and zika virus-like diseases. And this isn’t the case for only people with low immunity mosquito threaten everyone’s life.

At this point, it becomes even more crucial to know the difference between a normal mosquito and the mosquito with diseases. As some mosquito bites don’t award you with redness and itchiness instead they give life-threatening diseases like dengue and malaria.

Does every mosquito-spread malaria?

No, not every mosquito we come across with transmits malaria. Only infected Anopheles mosquitoes spread malaria. And the other mosquitos, which are infected by taking a blood meal from one of the malaria-infected people, can transmit malaria too.

How to identify malaria mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes which spread malaria are blackish to dark brown, and have three sections includes head, thorax, and abdomen. These mosquitoes are known as Anopheles, and mostly female anopheles is the one who infected you with malaria.

When anopheles rest on your body to bite you, their stomach area points upward rather than being parallel to your body like other mostly mosquitoes. They have an equally round shield (scutellum) that looks likes wings.

The most obvious feature they have is Palps, one can easily tell that it's an anopheles mosquito by looking at its palps.

Anopheles life cycle

There are 400 different species of Anopheles mosquitoes, and approximately 30 of them are majorly known as malaria transmitter mosquitoes.

Female anopheles mosquito lives only for few weeks to a month, but they can breed thousand of eggs in that time. Anopheles mosquitoes are famous for circulating malaria disease to humans, and they also transmit heartworm in dogs.

Anopheles mosquitoes breed eggs in still, calm water.

Does anopheles mosquitoes dangerous?

Malaria which these Anopheles mosquitoes transmit can be deadly to babies who haven’t developed their immunity yet. And for women with babies in their womb as their immunity goes lower due to pregnancy. And to people who are not well already and suffering for good health.

But this doesn’t mean that it’s not harmful to normal people. It can be fatal for people with good immunity if not treated on time.

Symptoms of malaria mosquitoes bites

In doctor’s terms, there are two types of malaria disease exists one is uncomplicated malaria and the other is severe malaria and symptoms for both are different. Although the cause of both malaria is anopheles mosquito bites.

Uncomplicated Malaria: In uncomplicated malaria initial symptoms starts with cold, with shivering, which follows by second-stage symptoms like headache, vomiting, fever, and then again goes to normal temperature by sweating, tiredness, and fatigue. Sometimes stiffness and sensation in muscles are also felt by younger age people.

Severe Malaria: In this case of malaria with initial stage symptoms as fever and shivering problem extends to impaired consciousness, respiratory distress like deep breathing and dry cough, a sign of anemia, organ dysfunction, convulsion, jaundice, and abnormal bleeding.

How to prevent anopheles mosquito bites?

Anopheles mosquitoes are most active during the nights and to protect yourselves from these mosquitoes there is some option you could follow.

Wear full sleeves and light color clothes and full pants mosquitoes are attracted to colors like black, and blue.

Sleep under a mosquito net to keep these little pests away from you.

Mosquitoes invite to still water and especially anopheles breed in still water, so make sure not to let water collected in empty pots like things. Also, clean the water from time to time that is stored for birds and animals.

Use a screen on windows to keep mosquitoes outside.

Use natural mosquito repellent like Pai’s anti-mosquito killer to keep these bugs away from your house and you.

Make yourself less appealing to mosquitoes wear any anti mosquitoes gel or essential oil like lavender essential oil, neem oil, and peppermint essential oil, to keep yourself safe from mosquito bites.

Although malaria mosquitoes and normal mosquitoes are very different, still not everyone can distinguish them with normal eyes. As mosquitoes are tiny size species. So it will be best to keep all kinds of mosquitoes away from you and your house.

And mosquitoes are anyway very irritating and live on our blood.

Fun Fact about mosquitoes – Male mosquitoes are depended on a non-blood meal, so all the caused by mosquitoes are because of female mosquitoes.