Death by mosquito

[Szlater]

Weird question that’s been bugging me for a while. I think I saw something on TV years ago that mentioned death by mosquito swarm… but after thinking about it I’m starting to believe that I imagined it… So…
How many mosquitos (or mosquito bites) would it take to kill someone (average healthy adult male), ruling out disease or anaphylaxis as a cause?

And could it happen?

[Whack-a-Mole]

I found this which sort of answers your question (albeit not the hypothetical “how many would it take” question):

Miss McGranaghan, from Stockport, had been bitten extensively during her trip, after sleeping outdoors. The inquest was told that no reason could be found for the fatal heart attack, but it could have been triggered by the bites becoming inflamed. The coroner recorded an open verdict.

<snip>

Despite the scale and intensity of human contact with mosquitoes, there is no established link with heart attacks or sudden death.
<snip>

Unprotected, it is possible to receive more than 500 mosquito bites a night in cities such as Calcutta.

SOURCE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2002/05/18/etnewsmosq18.xml

Also, I was watching a show on television about the construction of the ALCAN Highway and apparently mosquitos were so abundant and annoying up there it was not unheard of for some men to just lose it and have a mental breakdown. Whether any of these people killed themselves as a result I have no idea and may be stretching it for your question but maybe…

[butler1850]

If the mosquitoes are malaria carriers, you could certainly die.

Otherwise, I’d doubt they could do so by numbers alone. Now, the noise of them buzzing in my ears may be enough to put me over the edge as suggested in Whack-a-Mole’s post.

[Askance]

I think the OP’s question was really something like “how many mosquito bites would it take to drain a person of enough blood for them to die?”. This site says “The average female mosquito will take about 5 millionths of a liter of blood from you when they bite”. So to drain you of, say, 5 litres would take 1 million mosquito bites; with 100 biting every second that would take about 3 hours. I think you’d notice before that.

[butler1850]

@Askance

So to drain you of, say, 5 litres would take 1 million mosquito bites; with 100 biting every second that would take about 3 hours. I think you’d notice before that.

I’ll be in northern New Hampshire on Lake Umbagog this weekend. They might have the density to test this out up north. If I don’t post on Monday, you’ll have your answer. :eek:

[August_West]

I thought I had heard of caribou in Alaska dying of exsanguination via mosquito, but I may have imagined it.

[Blake]

@August West

I thought I had heard of caribou in Alaska dying of exsanguination via mosquito, but I may have imagined it.

It’s fairly common for livestock or wildlife such as moose or cattle to die during severe infestaions of blackflies, mosquitoes and so forth, but it isn’t blood loss that kills them. Rather they die from not being able to eat or drink or sleep. Essentially death is caused by malnutrition and dehydration compounded by extreme stress. It is theoretically possible for humans to die of the same causes, but usually peope are smart enough to defeat biting insects, even if means smearing a thick layer of mud all over the body.