The Sierra Skeeter

[yosehiker]

Just wondering if anyone had any knowledge of the Sierra mosquito life cycle. On my last backpack the mosquitoes got me thinking of where they go in the fall/winter. Normally they are gone by now, but they are in great abundance obviously. So weather/temperature is not a limiting factor and in a 'normal' august there is still plenty of water, just not so much of it. So do the mosquitoes need a special type/temp/etc of water or water only part of the year as otherwise one would think lakes would make a great habitat for them. Is there only one life cycle in the summer, or are there many? It seems to me that there are a few, as they seem to get smaller later in the year. Though you would think it would be the opposite, the first mosquitoes would be small after a long winter, and the later ones bigger after a summer of feasting. And lastly, how do they survive the months of freezing temperatures, some sort of hibernating?

[ManOfTooManySports]

I know little to nothing. But a few years ago Scientific American devoted a full issue to mosquitoes. It had a lot of good articles, from what I recall. Worth hitting the library and reviewing for a start in your mosquito inquiries.

[mcw1139]

We had a big snowpack in the spring of 2011. The high country melt happened a lot later that summer. Hence - small newly hatched mosquitoes.