Female mosquitoes – the deadliest predator on the planet

Jan 14, 2024 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures:, News, Waterfalls Magazine

2023 stat table comparing human deaths caused by predators

By Shervin Belgrave

Waterfalls Magazine – A common Guyanese saying, “Lil axe does cut down big tree”, is the perfect phrase to describe the female mosquito, a small insect that does not grow bigger than one centimeter but claims the lives of more than 750,000 persons every year and that number does not include the larger predators that appear scarier than this tiny animal.

While many might be more afraid of venomous snakes or an aggressive 570 pound lion or perhaps a 660 pound Siberian Tiger with huge scary fangs, it is the female mosquito that they should dread. I am stressing “female mosquitoes” because according to scientists, they are the killers and not the males.

The deadliest animals in the world are not measured on ferocity, scary looks or huge size but by the number people they kill each year and mosquito is by far the most fatal creature on the planet.

These little creatures, according to Statista- a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, is responsible for around one million annual human deaths when compared to 100,000 deaths from snakes and 250 from lions. That is a huge gap between the insect and much larger animals.

Title of deadliest creature

Mosquitoes have earned the title of the deadliest creature in the world because they transmit a number of deadly diseases, the worst of which is malaria. Statista reported that Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite that results in fever, chills, headache, vomiting and, if left untreated, death. Malaria disproportionately affects poorer regions of the world such as Africa and South-East Asia. In 2020, there were around 627,000 deaths from malaria worldwide.

In 2022 mosquitoes claimed the lives of one million people and last year these creatures reportedly 750,000 more.

Other deadly mosquito borne diseases include, the West Nile virus dengue viruses, Zika, yellow fever, etc.

The deadliest creature on earth

Mosquitoes transmit these diseases to humans and animals by feasting on their blood and according to scientists, it is only the females that require a healthy diet of blood.

While male mosquitoes feed mostly on the nectar from flowers, the females require blood to lay their eggs.

While she is feeding on the blood, her saliva is transferred to the host during the bite, and can cause an itchy rash. Some species of these female mosquitoes such as, Anopheles, Aeded and Culex leave more than just an itchy rash. These blood-feeding species can ingest pathogens (disease carrying organisms) while biting, and then transmit them later to its hosts. Those deadly pathogens include vectors of parasitic diseases such as malaria and filariasis, and arboviral diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever.

If these facts about mosquitoes scare you should know that these creatures reproduce more when stagnant water is around.

Scientists say that mosquitoes like to lay their eggs in dirty and non-flowing water.

Other interesting facts about mosquitoes are that they prefer to feed more at dusk and dawn, can fly up to three miles per hour and are attracted to carbon dioxide and heat-So if you don’t like to bathe then the mosquitoes are coming after you because these creatures tend to bite persons that are sweaty and breathing heavily.

Sources of information: https://www.statista.com/statistics/448169/deadliest-creatures-in-the-world-by-number-of-human-deaths/#:~:text=Malaria,%2C%20if%20left%20untreated%2C%20death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito#:~:text=Mosquitoes%20have%20a%20slender%20segmented,addition%20adapted%20to%20drink%20blood.