Why do female mosquitoes cause malaria?

Malaria is a deadly disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Curiously, only female mosquitoes bite – male mosquitoes only feed on sugar, not on blood. That is because male mosquitoes do not need an extra dose of nutrients to produce eggs, which is a job for the females.

What is the name of the female mosquito that causes malaria?

Anopheles Mosquitoes. Malaria is transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Female mosquitoes take blood meals for egg production, and these blood meals are the link between the human and the mosquito hosts in the parasite life cycle.

What is the difference between male and female mouth parts of a mosquito?

Both male and female mosquitoes have a mouthpart called a proboscis. On males, the proboscis is wider, branched, and has a feathery appearance which aids their hearing capabilities.

How do you identify a malaria mosquito?

Species (transmits Malaria) The body of the adult Anopheles mosquito is dark brown to black in color and has three sections which are the head, thorax and abdomen. When resting, the stomach area of the anopheles mosquito species points upward, rather than being even with the surrounding surface like most mosquitoes.

Why is the female Anopheles mosquito vector of malaria and not the male mosquito?

Solution : Male Anopheles mosquitoes feed on plant juices and hence are not carriers of malarial disease. Female Anopheles mosquito is the primary host of malarial parasite, Plasmodium. It reproduces in the salivary glands.

Why does male Anopheles do not cause malaria?

The male mosquito lacks blood-sucking mouthparts and is not able to transmit the malarial parasite. Malaria is caused by the female Anopheles mosquito which is a single-celled microorganism of the group plasmodium. On biting the mosquito introduces parasites from its saliva and transfers it into the person’s blood.

Is Anopheles male or female?

When viewed under magnification male proboscis is wide and feathery whereas the female anopheles mosquito consists of a long and thin tube-like proboscis which is smooth as compared to the male anopheles mosquito. So, it is the proboscis of anopheles which differs in male and female anopheles.

How can you tell a female Anopheles mosquito?

Anopheles mosquitoes can be distinguished from other mosquitoes by the palps, which are as long as the proboscis, and by the presence of discrete blocks of black and white scales on the wings.

Why do female mosquitoes feed on blood?

Only female mosquitoes bite people and animals to get a blood meal. Female mosquitoes need a blood meal to produce eggs. Mosquitoes get infected with germs, such as viruses and parasites, when they bite infected people and animals.

Does a mosquito have 47 teeth?

Mosquitoes do not have teeth, they have 47 sharp daggers that run along each side of a long, piercing proboscis. With a weapon like that, who needs teeth? The proboscis is an elongated mouthpart that is used like a hypodermic needle to pierce the skin.

What are the sporozoites?

Medical Definition of sporozoite : a usually motile infective form of some sporozoans (as the malaria parasite) that is a product of sporogony and initiates an asexual cycle in the new host.

How does female Anopheles mosquito transmit malaria?

Malaria infection begins when an infected female Anopheles mosquito bites a person, injecting Plasmodium parasites, in the form of sporozoites, into the bloodstream. The sporozoites pass quickly into the human liver. The sporozoites multiply asexually in the liver cells over the next 7 to 10 days, causing no symptoms.