Nature Notebook – Why do mosquitoes bite?

Why do mosquitoes bite us?

Protein is needed by all living things to grow and reproduce. Most insects consume enough in their larval stages to last through their metamorphosis into adulthood. Mosquitoes do not. Males are fine with this lack of protein. Their job is to mate with females. They only need the carbohydrates from flower nectar to fuel their flight to accomplish this.

Females, however, must lay eggs. They need amino acids (from the blood meal) to activate a gene to manufacture yolk protein. Only then can the ovaries begin egg production. Once she lays those eggs, the female repeats the process two or three times during her short adult stage.