I was bitten by mosquitoes even though I was wearing such thick clothes. How powerful are mosquitoes' mouthparts?

It has been winter for a long time now. I believe everyone has felt the chill of winter and put on thick winter clothes. Although summer has passed, some mosquitoes still resist the severe cold and are still active around us, trying to obtain nutrients from our bodies to reproduce. Perhaps you have also lamented, why can I still be bitten by mosquitoes even though I am wearing such thick clothes? So how powerful are the mosquito's mouthparts?

A small needle, super powerful six-in-one

I believe we have all killed mosquitoes, but when we observe the mosquito closely, we can often only see one mouthpart. However, this small mouthpart is far from as simple as we see with our naked eyes. It looks like one, but it is actually composed of six stylets, and different stylets have different functions.

These six mouth needles can be divided into three types. After the mosquito flies to our skin, the two serrated mouth needles will take the lead, like two scalpels, slowly cutting a small incision on our skin, and then the other two mouth needles will open the incision at the incision to play a supporting role. Then the last two mouth needles will take effect. These two mouth needles also have different divisions of labor. One of them is the "straw" for mosquitoes to suck blood, which is the channel for eating. This straw also has a positioning function, which can accurately locate the blood vessels under our skin, allowing mosquitoes to find the best buffet seat. The other one is not very elegant. It will spit at us. The mosquito's saliva is also very magical. The special ingredients it contains have an anesthetic effect, which makes us feel no pain from the mouth needle piercing, making it convenient for mosquitoes to eat at will. At the same time, it can also prevent blood coagulation. People usually choke when eating. Whether it is a person or a mosquito, they don't want this to happen. With this natural anticoagulant, mosquitoes can drink freely. This saliva is the culprit for the red bumps on our skin after being bitten. It stimulates our immune system to release fluid and cells to the bitten area to remove foreign substances, which naturally manifests as red bumps on the skin.

Mosquitoes not only have long legs, but also long needles

When a mosquito lands on a wall or table, its six long legs will naturally spread apart and stick to the contact surface to support its body. The mosquito's legs are long, and its mouthparts are not short. Generally speaking, the adult body length of common mosquitoes is about 1.6-12.6mm. A mosquito with a body length of about 10mm has a mouthpart of 1-2mm. Some gifted mosquitoes can even have a mouthpart length of more than 5mm.

The thickness of our clothes in late autumn and early winter is generally around 4-15mm. At the same time, we also have to consider one issue: clothes that seem to be of relatively uniform thickness in our eyes, however, appear to be bumpy, complex terrain with ups and downs in the eyes of mosquitoes that are many times smaller than us. Moreover, the coarser the fibers and meshes of the clothes, the greater the difference in thickness will be for mosquitoes.

Although mosquitoes are not very intelligent, they will also look for parts that are convenient for them to bite. At this time, parts of clothes with larger gaps and thinner fabrics will become the main attack sites of mosquitoes. So if you want to prevent mosquitoes by wearing "armor", then you'd better not choose knitted clothes with larger gaps.

What can mosquito mouthparts bring us?

Mosquitoes are a kind of creature that almost everyone hates, but they actually play an important role in nature. Their adults and larvae are food for some insectivores. At the same time, mosquitoes can also pollinate some plants and help them reproduce. So what can mosquitoes bring to humans? The mosquito mouthparts we introduced actually gave people a lot of inspiration. When we get an injection, the needle piercing the skin will cause us pain, because the needle often breaks our skin with a sharp tip, and our nerves will be greatly stimulated and produce pain.

The mosquito's mouthparts, which cut first and then penetrate deeper, can avoid our nerves and reduce our pain. Some people have used this principle to make a painless needle to reduce the pain of injections.

A tiny mosquito can also bring a lot of inspiration. I hope that painless needles can be popularized soon. Although the pain of an injection is small, it is a blessing to be able to avoid it. I also hope that the mosquitoes that we hate so much will not only suck our blood, but also bring more practical technologies like painless needles.

Written by: Lao Ke Kai Brain Hole

This article is produced by the Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting