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Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics - Life Cycle of a Mosquito

Grade 6CBSE

Review the key concepts, formulae, and examples before starting your quiz.

🔑Concepts

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Mosquitoes undergo a process called Complete Metamorphosis, which means their life cycle consists of four distinct stages: Egg, Larva, Pupa, and Adult.

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Stage 1: Egg: Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water. Some species, like CulexCulex, lay eggs in clusters called 'rafts' which can contain 100100 to 300300 eggs.

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Stage 2: Larva: Commonly known as 'wrigglers', larvae live in water and breathe through a respiratory tube called a siphon. They feed on organic matter and microorganisms in the water.

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Stage 3: Pupa: Also known as 'tumblers', this is a non-feeding stage. During this time, the mosquito transforms from a larva into an adult insect inside a pupal case.

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Stage 4: Adult: The adult (Imago) emerges from the pupal skin. After its wings dry and harden, it flies away. Male mosquitoes feed on nectar, while female mosquitoes bite animals for blood to gain protein for egg production.

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Mosquitoes are vectors, meaning they carry diseases. For example, the female AnophelesAnopheles mosquito carries the parasite for Malaria, and the AedesAedes mosquito carries the virus for Dengue.

📐Formulae

Life Cycle Stages=Egg→Larva→Pupa→Adult\text{Life Cycle Stages} = \text{Egg} \rightarrow \text{Larva} \rightarrow \text{Pupa} \rightarrow \text{Adult}

Total Aquatic Time=Tegg+Tlarva+Tpupa\text{Total Aquatic Time} = T_{egg} + T_{larva} + T_{pupa}

Total Eggs=Number of Rafts×Eggs per Raft\text{Total Eggs} = \text{Number of Rafts} \times \text{Eggs per Raft}

💡Examples

Problem 1:

In a laboratory study, a mosquito remained in the larval stage for 77 days and in the pupal stage for 33 days. What is the total duration of these two stages combined?

Solution:

7+3=10 days7 + 3 = 10 \text{ days}

Explanation:

By adding the duration of the larval stage (77 days) and the pupal stage (33 days), we find that the mosquito spent a total of 1010 days in these developmental phases.

Problem 2:

If a female mosquito lays 145145 eggs in the morning and 8282 eggs in the evening, calculate the total number of eggs laid in one day using vertical addition.

Solution:

145+82227\begin{array}{r} 145 \\ + 82 \\ \hline 227 \end{array}

Explanation:

To find the total, we perform vertical addition of the two quantities of eggs: 145145 and 8282 equals 227227 eggs.

Problem 3:

Why is it recommended to remove stagnant water to control the mosquito population?

Solution:

Because the first three stages (Egg→Larva→Pupa\text{Egg} \rightarrow \text{Larva} \rightarrow \text{Pupa}) are entirely aquatic.

Explanation:

Without stagnant water, mosquitoes cannot complete their life cycle as they lack a medium to lay eggs and for larvae to survive.