Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce) forms dense floating mats that facilitate Mansonia mosquito breeding. Eggs are laid beneath leaves, and larvae attach to submerged roots for development.

Pistia stratiotes

Eggs of Anopheles stephensi mosquito 

Eggs of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito

Larvae and pupae of Aedes aegypti mosquito

Photomicrograph of a Mansonia uniformis mosquito egg mass, consisting of a large number of eggs attached together in a rosette-like shape.

Eggs of Mansonia uniformis mosquito

A female Anopheles mosquito (Anopheles gambiae) sucking blood from the photographer's hand using its proboscis. The mosquito's abdomen is already filled and expanded to the extent that one drop of blood is directly excreted. At the start of the blood meal, the mosquito injects saliva that contains anticoagulation agents and, in some cases, sporozoites (infectious form of the malaria parasite).

Anopheles mosquito sucking blood

Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito

Mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species are a transmission vector for several viruses, including yellow fever virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. A mosquito is seen sucking blood from a human host; its abdomen has expanded from the blood meal.

Overview of mosquito vectors and their characteristics
		Anopheles	Culex	Aedes (tiger mosquito)	Mansonia	Sandyfly (phlebotomus argentipes)
Associated diseases		Malaria	• Japanese encephalitis • Lymphatic filariasis	• Dengue • Yellow fever • Chikungunya • Zika	Lymphatic filariasis	Kala azar
Geographical distribution		Tropical and subtropical regions	Urban/peri-urban regions	Tropical and subtropical urban regions	Tropical wetlands/swampy areas	Indian subcontinent
Host preference		Predominantly humans	Cattle, birds, humans	Predominantly humans	Cattle	Predominantly humans
Breeding site		Clean, stagnant water in ponds, rice fields	Polluted water, drains, sweage	Artificial, stored water	Large water bodies with aquatic vegetation	Mud flats, moist soils, floors of cattle huts
Egg morphology		Boat shaped Lateral air floats Singular	Cylindrical Laid in floating rafts	Cigar-shaped No floats Singular	Star-shaped clusters	Small, oval eggs
Larval characteristics		No respiratory siphon Lies parallel to the water surface	Long respiratory siphon Hangs from the water surface	Short respiratory siphon Hangs from the water surface	Respiratory siphon Attaches to aquatic plant roots	Caterpillar-like larva Housed in organic matter and moist soil
Adult characteristics	Biting time	Dawn and dusk	Midnight	Day	Evening	Dusk to dawn
	Flight range	2–3 km	11–13 km	200 m	2–3 km	100-200 m
	Resting position	Inclined	Hunchback	Parallel to surface	Long legs, squatting	Body inclined, wings erect in V-shape
	Resting place	Exophilic	Exophilic and endophilic	Endophilic	Exophilic	Endophilic
	Special features	Spots on wings	• Small, brown body and big wings	Stripes on body	Big body	Very small size Yellow or light brown with hairy body and legs Prominent black eyes

Disease vector identification

Overview of mosquito vectors and their characteristics