5.4.4  Adult mosquitoes

Mating takes place soon after the adult emerges from the pupa. The female usually mates only once because it receives sufficient sperm from a single mating for all subsequent egg batches. Normally the female takes her first blood meal only after mating, but sometimes the first blood meal can be taken by young virgin females. The first batch of eggs develops after one or two blood meals (depending on the species); while successive batches usually require only one blood meal. The process of blood-feeding, egg maturation and egg laying is repeated several times throughout the life of the mosquito. The length of time between two feeding cycles depends on the external temperature. In Anopheles arabiensis, for example, the cycle takes 48 hours when the average day-night temperature is 23°C.