Mosquito Bites

Only females mosquitoes bite because they need the protein from blood to produce eggs.

When being bitten the female lands on your skin and pierces it with her proboscis, a small needle-like aparatus. She injects saliva into your system to help prevent the blood from clotting and sucks blood until her abdomen is full.

The Reaction
After the mosquito has left, saliva remains in your body, and in the event that you slapped the mosquito, the proboscis may have broken off in your skin. Your body's immune system will react to the foreign saliva and cause swelling around the bitten area. The saliva causes the itching associated with mosquito bites that many of us know all too well.

Treating Mosquito Bites
For information on treating mosquito bites, visit the mosquito bite remedy page.