Larvae

I found these guys growing in an abandoned ice-cream container. Mosquito larvae. Im still surprised at how many people dont know that its only the female mosquito that sucks blood. During feeding a mosquito can consume 3 times its own weight in food. Once a female has a full belly, she will withdraw for a few days to digest this meal and use the protein to nurture her eggs, which she will then hunt for a stagnant water source to lay them in. The larvae then hatch and feed on algae, bacteria and other microbes for a period of about 2 weeks at the end of which they will pupate. The pupa is capable of swimming but will usually only do so if disturbed to get away from predators. This stage will only last a couple of days, then the adult emerges from the pupa and the cycle begins again. For the curious, female mosquitoes only live for about 2 weeks in the wild (they have been known to live for a month in captivity). Male mosquitoes are nectar feeders and will only live about a week.