Millions of mosquitoes flooded the Curonian Spit

“If you feel lonely, come to the Curonian Spit. Today, for example, in Juodkrantė you will be accompanied everywhere by the company of chironomids.

They will not envy you, they are just celebrating their wedding. Millions of mosquitoes form poles in which the males fertilize the females, which then lay their eggs in nearby bodies of water: lagoons, puddles, other wet places.

Adult, flying mosquito gnats are eaten by swallows, starlings and other birds, and the larvae that develop in the water are a great snack for aquatic life,” the park said Friday.

In the general Lithuanian encyclopedia, it is written that mosquitoes are a family of diptera (Diptera) insects. There are more than 10,000 species, and in Lithuania there are about 150 of them.

Body 1-9 mm long, grey-green, brown or grey. Mouth very short or absent. Wings without scales. The antennae of males are fan-shaped, the body is thin, the antennae of females are hairy, the body is thick.

Larvae develop in various bodies of water, in moist soil. Some species of larvae that live in oxygen-poor environments are red in color due to the hemoglobin in their bodies. Mosquito larvae are an important component of fish food and an indicator of water quality.

Since there are a lot of adult mosquitoes on the shores of the Curonian Lagoon, they sometimes cause health problems for residents.