Flying Pests
Mosquito
Body: have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and long legs.
The wings long and narrow, with scales along the veins. Bodies also very thin. Females bite, but males do not; the female proboscis has 6 piercing parts. Body length: To 3/4". 76 species and subspecies of mosquitoes are currently known to occur in Texas. This large diversity derives from Texas's semi-tropical climate and proximity to tropical countries. There are 13 United States species that occur only in Texas. These pesky bloodsuckers that leave you scratching are more than just a nuisance... they are a menace. They carry diseases – encephalitis, malaria, West Nile Virus – and cause heart-worms in your canine friends. Mosquitoes have many sensors to designed to seek out their prey. Chemical sensors that can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet away. Just about any mammal or bird gives off these gases as part of its normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can detect heat, so warm-blooded mammals and birds are easily found once they get close enough. Mosquitoes have visual sensors that can easily see contrasts and movement. Mosquitoes need water. All mosquitoes have four stages of development-egg, larva, pupa, and adult-and spend their larval and pupal stages in water. When adult mosquitoes emerge from the aquatic stages, they mate, and the female seeks a blood meal to obtain the protein necessary for the development of her eggs. The blood of any mammal will do.
Honey Bee
Body: alternating dark brown and golden yellow sections
Honey bees are social insects, with a marked division of labor between the various types of bees in the colony. A colony of honey bees includes a queen, drones and workers. Chances are, if you are having problems with honey bees on your property, they are workers as the queen and her drones are strictly meant for reproductive purposes and rarely leave the hive. Workers, the smallest bees in the colony, but the ones with the stingers, are sexually undeveloped females. A colony can have 50,000 to 60,000 workers. Honey bees' wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz. Although hone bees are necessary insects, they are generally considered to be pests because of their ability to sting. Unfortunately, a honey be cannot tell the difference between a tree on your property and one in the wild, thus the problem. Some people are highly allergic to bee stings, which have been known to cause death in some people.
Wasps or Yellow Jackets
Body: twice the size of a honey bee, their abdomens are longer and more narrow than a bee's. Longer wings. Their coloring is alternating black and bright yellow (sometimes white) bands.
5/8 to 1 inch in size. All wasps will defend their nests, but the Yellow Jackets and hornets are the most aggressive, which is another way you can distinguish them from bees, whereas a bee is usually more docile, wasps will usually take the proactive defense strategy. Come anywhere near their homes and you have trouble. Yellow jackets will also forage on foods that people eat, especially sweets and meats. They are considered beneficial insects, eating other insects. The yellow jacket colony will remain active for only one summer, after which the queens will fly away to start more colonies. The remaining ones, die at the end of the summer, the nest is not reused.They usually nest in the ground, but will nest also in railroad ties, wall voids, and other above ground locations, like the eave of a roof or tall doorways. For most a wasp sting is temporary, but painful, but for allergic individuals as single sting may result in a serious reaction, requiring medical treatment
