The Terrifying Anatomy of a Mosquito Bite

On a recent episode of the KQED science series Deep Look, they explore the terrifying anatomy of a mosquito bite. We get a magnified look at how the dangerous insects use their "six needle-like mouthparts to saw into our skin, tap a blood vessel, and sometimes leave a dangerous parting gift."

It's a good thing you can't really see what that mosquito is doing when it bites - you probably wouldn't want to watch as it buries six needles into you. But scientists have been figuring out all the bloody details. And it's not just for idle curiosity: mosquito bites are more dangerous to humans than any other animal bite. While female mosquitoes - only females bite us - are drinking our blood to grow their eggs, they can leave behind viruses and parasites that cause diseases like West Nile, Zika, malaria and dengue. (read more)

A photo posted by KQED Science (@kqedscience) on Jun 9, 2016 at 3:14pm PDT

image via KQED

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