WHEN MOSQUITOS BITE

Evening Star, Issue 22572, 13 February 1937, Page 8

WHEN MOSQUITOS BITE

You are sure to have been bitten by mosquitos from time to time, but have you ever realised what actually happens when a mosquito settles on an arm or leg and begins to whet its knives? Yes, a mosquito has real knives, not less than six of them, which it uses in “ biting.” Five of the knives are the mosquito’s two mandibles, its two jaws, and its so-called tongue; the sixth knife is its “ upper lip.” Prior to biting the mosquito makes the first hole with its upper lip, whereupon it bends its head downwards and pushes all the other five knives into the hole. You can see the knives disappear in your skin if you watch the mosquito through a magnifying glass'. One of the six knives, the tongue, is hollow, and immediately after the bite the insect’s saliva will flow into the wound through this knife. This _ saliva _ contains fermentative fungi, the effect of which in the wound is to make the skin swell and to pro-

duce inflammation. The saliva also contains a substance to prevent the blood from congealing, for tho mosquito would be badly off if the blood began to coagulate in its throat. Do not drive away a mosquito which has settled down to its job and begun to suck your blood. If you allow it to finish in peace it will suck up must uf tho poison again.