Mosquito Larvae

 Mosquito larvae, commonly called "wigglers," live in water from 4 to 14 days depending on water temperature. Larvae of almost all species must come to the surface at frequent intervals to obtain oxygen through a breathing tube called a siphon. Larvae are constantly feeding since maturation requires a huge amount of energy and food. They hang with their heads down and the brushes by their mouths filtering anything small enough to be eaten toward their mouths to nourish the growing larvae. They feed on algae, plankton, fungi and bacteria and other microorganisms. They breath at the water surface with the breathing tube up breaking the water surface tension. The larvae of a few mosquito species are cannibalistic, feeding on larvae of other mosquitoes: Toxorhynchites and some Psorophora, the largest mosquitoes known, are predators of other mosquito larvae sharing their habitat. Their larvae are much larger than other mosquito larvae.