Hello folks who wonder if Santa Claus has a prime account and places orders on Amazon instead of personally delivering them,

Which tribe has the fiercest warriors and has killed more humans than all humans collectively killed in wars?
The answer to that question can be found lurking in the forgotten kiddie pools or that abandoned water bucket in your backyard after the rains.

Mosquito larvae are frequently spotted hanging at the water surface of a stagnant pool mooning passersby who happened to glance at these mischievous teens. Go a tad bit close and they will dive down to escape the wrath.
Here is one culprit caught in the act.



You might ask why is that snorkel tube coming out of its butt? Is it because the fishes don't like the larvae farting in the water?
Turns out it is a siphon that is used to breathe(and no it does not come out of the butt, sorry fishes!).
Below is a closer look at the the larva affectionately called wrigglers who starts calling me a boomer when I tell it that building Minecraft houses is not a skill you can use on a resume. Kids these days!
Also you can see the siphon tube on the other end of the body.



These larvae are filter feeders and will feed on algae, fungi and other microorganisms. The reason they need stagnant water to survive is because they will wriggle and dive down to escape predators or any slight water disturbance.
At that point they are holding their breath and will eventually come back to the surface. But if the water is constantly moving, it would exhaust its energy just swimming up and down instead of eating. Also, algae struggle to grow in moving water.



After they spend up to 2 weeks as a larva, they will move to the next step i.e. pupa. At this stage, they will stop eating and just anxiously wait for the next season of Stranger Things to come out.
During this stage they will still hang near the surface of the water and dive down when the water surface is disturbed. They are affectionately called tumblers during this stage and resemble a comma.
Below is a mosquito pupa with those two horns(called as trumpets) used to breathe near the surface of the water.



Once they mature to adults, they will start looking for potential dates. In order to sustain these adventurous lives, they will feed on a diet of nectar and plant sap. But once the female decides she is ready to start her family, she will start looking for sources of protein, but despite the market flooded with plant based protein like beyond meat and impossible burger, they still choose to suck out the blood out of a mammal.
Below is a female adult mosquito looking for a potential target.



Have you ever wondered how mosquitos suck the blood from your arm while you are cheering Jon Snow during the fight with the Night King.
Below is a close up look at the compound eyes and the proboscis, but that still doesn't answer the question how they can pierce the skin to suck the blood.
That thing looks like it has been baby proofed so no one will get hurt.



Aah! You just needed to slide the sheath. Lo and behold, different parts reveal themselves. These parts allow it to do a range of stuff from piercing your skin to detecting blood vessels to injecting their saliva and finally suck out the blood.
Below are some of the hidden parts revealed when the TSA agent stopped it at the airport, when the airport security scanner started to beep.
Turns out it beeped because it was carrying more than 5 oz of sunscreen..Noob traveller!



Like other insects, the heart is in their abdomen and can be seen beating rapidly the first time it gets asked for a date.




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