Mosquito Life Cycle

Mosquitoes go through four distinct stages of development during a lifetime.  Undergoing a complete metamorphosis, the four stages are egg, pupa, larva, and adult.

The full life-cycle of a mosquito takes about a month. After drinking blood, adult females lay a raft of 50 to 400 tiny white eggs in standing water or very slow-moving water.

Within a week, the eggs hatch into larvae sometimes called "wrigglers" that breathe air through tubes which they poke above the surface of the water. Larvae eat bits of floating organic matter and each other. Larvae molt four times as they grow; after the fourth molt, they are called "pupae".

Pupae also called "tumblers" also live near the surface of the water, breathing through two horn-like tubes called siphons on their back. Pupae dont eat.

An adult mosquito emerges from a pupa when the skin splits after a couple of days.  The adult lives for a few weeks.