Or is it that the victims pest warning system is currently winning the biological arms race, in which case how are mosquitoes able to successfully reproduce? Or is it that mosquitoes have evolved such that their spawning numbers offset the difficulty they have biting?

Biology is hard.

  • @seven_phone
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    -66 hours ago

    I am sure I read somewhere that they defecate in the hole after they have drawn blood and that is what causes the irritation. That does not sound as if they are particularly worried about being regarded as annoying, in fact it feels like they see it as a bonus.

    • mozingo
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      166 hours ago

      That sounds completely made up. Why would they do that?

      • @seven_phone
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        118 minutes ago

        I definitely had that as vaguely factual, I thought heavy from blood they lightened the load before flying off and the hole was a too tempting target plus they enjoyed the symbolism. I asked ChatGPT and it said it was made up and was quite sneering about it so I suppose that is that.

      • @korny
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        116 hours ago

        Dominance.

    • @Ilovemyirishtemper
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      86 hours ago

      My understanding is that when they bite you, they also inject a bit of anticoagulant to prevent clotting as they suck blood out. The foreign material creates an allergic reaction that itches.

      I don’t think there would be much of an evolutionary advantage to irritating your victim until they start a pesticidal war against you and your kind.

      • @seven_phone
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        115 minutes ago

        They just seemed to have the correct attitude to do it anyway.