Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1895 — Why Do Mosquitoes Bite? [ARTICLE]

Why Do Mosquitoes Bite?

It has long been known that only the female mosquito bites. The male possesses no lance for indicting a wound such as his mate is provided with. The purpose of his existence is merely to perpetuate the species, and he nover enters a house unless by accident. The natural food of the female is the juices of plants, and it is not known why sho seeks blood. The indulgence seems to be a kind of dissipation with her,‘.like whisky and tobacco with human beings. Unlike the lutter, she never gets full but once. Though It Is asserted that she carries poison, the fact has never been proved; no venom glands have been discovered. Her sting consists of five extremely sharp needles, two of which are barbed. They unite to form an awl, whioh, having inflicted the puncture, serves ns a tube ’for sucking the blood of the victim. The suggestion that a poisonous fluid is introduced into the wound for the purpose of making the blood more liquid is mere theory.