alive

I don’t know the reason for this. I had experience with beetle larvae Silphidae. After fixation in 4% formalin, some remained alive. They "came to life" after a few hours. Regards, Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin

Hello Gangli; Many arthropods seem to be VERY resistant to toxins. I don't know the mechanism for mosquitoes but here is a story about Cerambycid beetles. The teneral adults of many species (they have metamorphosed but are still in the pupal chamber in the tree) are not killed by calcium cyanide! My interpretation has been that they are metabolizing anaerobically. In a kill jar they remain active for as long as 24 hours. I've never described this to another biologist who has noticed it. Share the story. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers

Perhaps the reason why she resisted the alcohol that was used is know

As insects, mosquitoes are indeed cold-blooded creatures, a la reptiles. They differ from humans in that their body temperatures adjust according to their current locations. This is why mosquitoes, like the majority of insects, tend to be more visible in warmer times of the year. Mosquitoes that reside in temperate regions do a lot of hibernating.

Which of the mosquito species larva did you dry? I know that Aedes egg can survive without water for years and activate once it comes in contact with water and the larva can hibernate while Anopheles can't. So you might as well consider that?

Yes mosquito larva,hibernate in a particular season ,region,species, age,sex and time.

As insects,mosquito are indeed cold blooded creatures ,a la reptiles they differ from humans in that in their body temperatures adjust according to their current locations. this is why mosquitoes,like the majority of insects tend to be more visible in warmer times of the year .mosquitoes that reside in temperature regions do alot of hibernating .

Female Hibernators

When female mosquito exit hibernation mode in the springtime ,they promptly consume blood meals and then deposit eggs .Female mosquito mosquitoes that go into hibernation usually at ones that matured towards the end of the season .

Extended lifespan due to

hibernation .

Male mosquito typically have much briefer life expectancies than the females .the boys typically live for 10 to 10 days ,while the girls can often live for upwards of 100 days .

Hibernation can greatly extend the mosquito life span , too mature mosquitoes that go into hibernation can sometimes have lengthy lives of between 6 to 8 months .

Although they are underniably alive when they are hibernating ,they are not at all active ,however.

Hibernation locales

When it comes to typical hibernation spots ,mosquitoes often opt for logs and dens previous by established by other animals.

Some of them even retreat to man made structures yo get away from the cold .it is not uncommon for mosquito es to hibernate in peoples houses ,often in the basements.some of them opt more selected areas,such as sheds outside of homes.

Arctic mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes that inhabit frigid arctic regions actually sometimes go into hibernation on the two separate occassions,this also lengthens their lifespan ,allowing some specimens to survive for more than 12 months .

Hibernstion for eggs and larva

Mosquito eggs that were deposited prior to cold temoeratures,sometimes can get through winter time.too ,via embryo libernation .they can even manage without water,getting what they need once the spring comes around .some mosquito larva over winter although this is not too common ,when mosquito larva make it through the tough winter months,they gradually stay in fresh water marshes usually sucked away below layers of mind.

Herbernation is very possible .

Mosquito larvae cannot survive in a medium without water. With alcohol the larvae die in a few seconds so the amount of alcohol applied was low

I feel that you are using the term "Hibernation" in a wrong context. Hibernation mean an organism slows down its metabolic processes to tide off the adverse climatic condition. And for sure in temperate regions (having extreme cold conditions) many species of mosquitoes hibernate in larval stage for a long time (months together) and with the onset of favourable climatic conditions they come out of hibernation and resume the normal life cycle. In your case, perhaps what has happened is that even after draining the water of the pool some moisture might have been left out which some how or the other helped larvae to survive and with the availability of water they revived themselves.

The alcohol wash did little but remove water from these immature mosquitoes. Without standing water, they remain alive for a long time. As eggs, even longer. It took millions of years to achieve this essential element to survival.

Thanks for the replies! I may try again with different concentrations of alcohol David Arthur Carlson Anil Prakash Diego Parrondo Paschal Chiedozie Amakiri Emmanuel Chioma Judith