Many times, we would like to go for an evening walk or sit outside and enjoy the warmth of the evening. Mosquitoes tend to be one of the discouraging factors that hinder us from doing these things, or any other thing we want to do in the evening because that period of the day seems to be the time they thrive and go into action.
Why are mosquitoes more active in the evening? Why do they always come out en masse during the dusk hours?
WHY MOSQUITOES LIKE TO COME OUT IN THE EVENING
There are over a hundred species of mosquito in North America, and different species have different habits and levels of activity. However, most of the species of mosquito are usually active during the evening, while some varieties like Aedes mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito appear during broad daylight.
Generally, mosquitoes like to feed when the air is cool and calm. Many mosquitoes can’t come out during the day because the heat that comes with the daytime can dehydrate them rapidly. Therefore, they ‘rest’ during the day and look for food in the evening.
It is not as though the mosquitoes disappear into thin air during the day time, even though they are scarcely seen. They look for dark and sheltered places to rest, and humid/wet places are where they love to be.
Also, mosquitoes do not only find it hard to thrive in the sun, but they also can’t withstand windy environments. According to Kirk Johnson, an ecologist with the Minnesota Mosquito Control District, wind speed dies down during the evening and ‘It takes a lot of energy for a mosquito to fly against the wind. They got a very small body and small wings’
WHAT DO THEY GAIN FROM BEING ACTIVE IN THE EVENING?
As stated earlier, they come out in the evening because that is the safest time for them to appear. Also, dehydration is not good for any creature, and is definitely not the best thing for the ‘little fly’. When the sun is at its peak, mosquitoes get drastically dehydrated (even humans get dehydrated, not to talk of little mosquitoes). When a mosquito enters a home or a building, chances of getting dehydrated are low and so this could keep them more active than they should be, making the occupants or inhabitants of the building vulnerable to numerous bites.
WHAT PART OF THE DAY DO MOSQUITOES IN TORONTO BECOME ACTIVE?
In Canada, mosquitoes are not in their numbers, but a considerable number of them are in Toronto. There are about 82 species of mosquitoes in Canada, and the most commonly found mosquito species belong to the genus Aedes. Also, Anopheles, Culex, Mansonia, and Culiseta mosquitoes are found in Canada.
In Toronto, mosquitoes can bite at any time of the day, but as is common for the majority of the species of mosquito, mosquitoes in Toronto are more active between dusk and dawn. The fact that mosquitoes in Toronto are more active when it’s dark doesn’t mean they don’t come out in the day at all, as Aedes mosquitoes, a very dangerous group of mosquitoes, are usually active during the day. Altogether, measures should be taken by Toronto inhabitants like wearing insect repellant, wearing long pants, sleeves and socks and using a fly swatter at home.