The other day I heard a story about people in Siberia going insane because of the density of mosquitos there. They’re like a fog. But it made me wonder, if someone sat in the tundra, and he somehow managed to cover every inch of his skin in mosquitos, would he eventually die of mosquito bites? Either from the poison (however harmless the stuff may be, it has to have some cumulative effect, right?), or from simple loss of blood? I tried to get my friend to go to Siberia and try it out, but he refused. So instead I turn to you for an answer to this incredibly stupid question.
One summmer dawn, 30 years ago, on the shore of the Great Salt Lake, I witnessed a mosquito congregartion the likes of which I’ve never seen or heard of since. It was truly a skeeter fog.
All that aside, in the immediate sense I doubt you could easily be killed by mosquito bites. I suppose you might get a toxic dose of their “numb and suck” juice in some extremely bizarre scenario. Mosquitoes have a much better chance of offing you, though not today, through their role as a disease vector. A few such diseases come to mind, most notably malaria and, for fatalities, encephalitis.
So then I guess the question is: What would kill him first? The bloodloss? Or the toxic dose? That is, if either one is even possible.
I don’t know about skeeters but I have read that men and horses have been killed by black flies. Now, where did I read that? I’ll try to find it.
I’m just talking out of my ass here, but…
If a mosquito bites a person who is infected with the AIDS virus and ingests their blood, wouldn’t the AIDS virus be on the mosquito’s mouth (on the tip of their sucker thing)? So with that said, the next person the mosquito inserts that sucker thing into, some blood remnants from the previous victim would be on it, and thus, the AIDS virus would be transferred. The death would not be immediate, but you know, eventually it would occur.
Of course, I could be wrong. And I probably am.
Probably not AIDS, because HIV can’t survive outside a person more than a few minutes and mosquitoes don’t usually bite two different people in such a short time. But the World Health Organization estimates that one person in 17 worldwide will die of a mosquito-borne disease. Mosquitoes are vectors for malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, and filariasis.
The Encyclopedia Americana was where I read that black flies have killed men and horses.
This does not answer the OP, but rather expands on bibliophage’s reply on the mosquito/HIV/AIDS question.
From the Go Ask Alice site:
Vandal, if you eat a strawberry pop tart for breakfast and then take a bite of a hamburger for lunch, do you get strawberry on your hamburger?
Mosquitos digest the blood they suck, HIV and all.
Some other posts mention that HIV is fragile and doesn’t last long in or on a mosquito. What the posts neglect to mention is that the organisms for which mosquitos are vectors (e.g, the organisms that cause malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, and filariasis) are specially adapted to be transmitted by mosquitos. For example, the malaria parasite not only avoids being digested, but it is able to make its way from the mosquito’s gut to its salivary gland so that it will be injected into the mosquito’s next victim.
I saw a show on Discovery Channel recently that talked about infectious diseases and how they spread. When discussing the mosquito vector, footage was shown of mosquito fogs over swampy terrain in mainland USA (I presume somewhere in the south). The narrative talked about swarms that hatch in the spring to become a life-threat menace to both humans and livestock.
I worked in the northern Canadian bush a lot when I was younger and I’ve been in the Siberian swamps too. I’ve seen unbelievable masses of mosquitos. I slapped the side of my leg randomly once and counted twenty seven dead mosquitos. I swept my hand above my head once and scooped seven deer flies out of the air. Deer flies look like small colourful house flies but they sting and leave a small bloody wound.
Anyway, I’ve always understood that if someone was lost in a mosquito infested northern swamp with thin clothing they would die of shock from the mosquito attack. Once they had exhausted themselves fighting off the attacking cloud their eyes would swell shut and so on. Certainly they would suffer some kind of mental collapse, “going insane” if you will.
One last tale: I love dragon flies. They’ve been around since the dinosaurs and are beautiful. I remember one day working in the bush when my partner and I were under attack by swarms of deer flies. If you keep moving the mosquitos don’t have time to gather in force but deer flies are fast and stay with you. We came out of the thick brush into a dried out beaver meadow and, as we crossed the open area, hundreds of small red dragon flies rose out of the grass, buzzed around us, and cleaned every deer fly out of the air around us. By the time we crossed the meadow there wasn’t a fly in the air.
I read in the newspaper that the mosquito transmitted “Nile Fever” that killed seven people in New York last year is believed to have survived the winter. The Canadian government has put out some chicken flocks along the Eastern Canadian border to try and detect this disease moving north in mosquitos from the New England states.
This is bringing back EXTREMELY unpleasant memories of a weekend I spent camping in the lake country of north-east Russia along the Finnish border–basically akin to the terrain and climate of notorious mosquito haunts like Minnesota.
I was with some Russians and obtained great insight into the cultural affection for vodka. The only way to get to sleep with the mosquitos buzzing in your ears and chewing your flesh was to drink in large quantities–I’m not sure if the mosquitos decided they didn’t like my smell or I simply didn’t feel it. I woke up at 5 AM with the sun shining brightly (surprisingly close to the arctic circle) when I sobered up and the mosquitos started in again.
I live in Winnipeg, which as most people know ranks right up there with Minnesota and Ontario for skeeters. I have seen babies covered in bites, worse for them too, they swell all up and look sickly. None of these children ever died, but they were sickly acting so it does affest you, when given in sheer quantity.
Question I hhave heard a rumor that they have created a new bug that eats mosquito larvae then dies, anyone confirm? One person I talked to said they saw it on the news and they are testing it here and in Minnesota (wonder why?).
Al Zheimers - LOVE dragonflies, they rock, except when they scare the beejesus outta me by flying right in to my face and avoind smacking me by mere millimetres.
Hard to believe anything could be worse than the Texas Gulf Coast . . .
Quote from Yeah:
Mosquitos digest the blood they suck, HIV and all.
I know. But what I was saying is that there would be some infected blood cells on the mosquito’s mouth left from the previous victim. So when that mouth gets put into the next victim, there would be a transfusion of blood cells.
Then, it was stated in subsequent posts that AIDS cannot last outside of the body for more than a few minutes, and mosquito’s don’t usually bite two people within a few minutes time, and thus, AIDS is not transferable via a mosquito.
I said I could be wrong – and I was.
I suppose one could die from mosquito bites. There I times I wish I had. 
I get hives from mosquito bites. One bite can make an inch-long bump. I guess I must be somewhat allergic. If someone with an allergy was bitten numerous times, I figure it could be deadly. Histamines go into high alert, your throat closes up, you can’t breathe–then you’re dead.
I hate those bastards.
If you’re ever in (or near) the Everglades, make sure to be in mosquito-proof surroundings before the sun sets. If you’re not, immediately after sundown, you’re first thought might be that a dormant lycanthropic gene has suddenly activated because it’ll look like all of your exposed skin has suddenly sprouted a dense fur covering. Then you’ll notice that the hair moves. And bites and sucks.
There are anecdotal stories about people that have been lost in the 'Glades dying from blood loss, but I doubt it. Someone else can do the math, but you’d need to figure out how many mosquitos x the amount they suck out of ya = the amount of blood loss that would cause death.
PS- I love dragon flies, too, for the same reasons.
Or the Louisiana Gulf Coast . . .
Cajun Country Urban Legend - stranger’s car breaks down on road through Pecan Island (nowhere-land swamp). Stranger spends the night in the car, but cracks the windows because it’s a hot night. Stranger is rescued the next morning, but has lost so much blood to mosquito bites that he is anemic and requires a blood transfusion.
After living in south Louisiana for several years, I could believe this one . . .
I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss their effects “today”. Complacency about mosquito-realted diseases has led to a lessening of mosquito control efforts. Consequently, malaria and other diseases are on the rise in some areas. It’s beginning to be a problem again.
Smeg, pal, I’m not sure I understand your post; or, perhaps mine was unclear. What I meant to convey was: blood loss effecting death is a today kind of experience - i.e., in the next 24-48 hours. Death from a mosquito borne disease is very definitely possible, just not as immediate as death by blood loss.
I remember seeing on the Discovery Channel that sometimes swarms of mosquitos descend upon husbandry farms and can suck so much blood out of the cattle that they die.
Of course, I have no cite for this!