Q1. What are the four life stages of a mosquito?
Answer: Egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Q2. Which life stages of a mosquito are aquatic?
Answer: Egg, larva, and pupa.
Q3. How many larval instars do mosquitoes typically have?
Answer: Four larval instars.
Q4. What is the primary food source for mosquito larvae?
Answer: Microorganisms, algae, and organic debris in water.
Q5. Which sex of mosquito requires a blood meal for egg development?
Answer: The female.
Q6. What do male mosquitoes feed on?
Answer: Nectar and plant sugars.
Q7. What is the typical lifespan of an adult female mosquito?
Answer: A few weeks to several months depending on species and conditions.
Q8. What genus of mosquito is the primary vector of West Nile virus in
Minnesota?
Answer: Culex, primarily Culex pipiens and Culex tarsalis.
Q9. What is the most common floodwater mosquito species in Minnesota?
Answer: Aedes vexans.
Q10. How does Aedes vexans lay its eggs?
Answer: Singly on moist soil or leaf litter in areas subject to flooding.
Q11. What triggers Aedes vexans eggs to hatch?
Answer: Flooding of the soil where eggs were deposited.
Q12. What is 'diapause' in mosquito biology?
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 1
,Answer: A period of suspended development that allows eggs or adults to
survive unfavorable conditions such as winter.
Q13. Which mosquito species in Minnesota overwinters as an adult?
Answer: Culex pipiens overwinters as an adult female.
Q14. Which Minnesota mosquito species can overwinter as eggs?
Answer: Aedes species such as Aedes vexans overwinter as diapausing eggs.
Q15. What is a 'pitcher plant mosquito'?
Answer: Wyeomyia smithii, a mosquito that breeds exclusively in the water-filled
leaves of pitcher plants.
Q16. What is the minimum water temperature required for mosquito larval
development?
Answer: Generally above 50°F (10°C); development accelerates as
temperatures rise.
Q17. How long does it take a mosquito to complete its life cycle under ideal
conditions?
Answer: As little as 7–10 days from egg to adult.
Q18. What is the primary breeding habitat for Culex pipiens?
Answer: Stagnant, organically enriched water such as catch basins, ditches, and
containers.
Q19. What is the typical flight range of Aedes vexans?
Answer: Up to several miles from the breeding site.
Q20. What sensory cues do female mosquitoes use to locate hosts?
Answer: Carbon dioxide, body heat, moisture, and body odors.
Q21. What is 'autogeny' in mosquito biology?
Answer: The ability of some female mosquitoes to produce the first batch of
eggs without a blood meal.
Q22. What is the difference between permanent and temporary water
mosquito habitats?
Answer: Permanent water habitats persist year-round (ponds, marshes), while
temporary habitats flood periodically (ditches, floodplains).
Q23. Name two tree-hole breeding mosquito species found in Minnesota.
Answer: Aedes triseriatus (eastern treehole mosquito) and Aedes japonicus.
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 2
, Q24. What disease can Aedes triseriatus transmit?
Answer: La Crosse encephalitis (LAC), a type of arboviral encephalitis.
Q25. What is the primary vector of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)?
Answer: Culiseta melanura is the primary enzootic vector; bridge vectors include
various Culex and Aedes species.
Q26. Which invasive container-breeding mosquito species has been
detected in Minnesota?
Answer: Aedes japonicus (Asian bush mosquito) has established populations in
Minnesota.
Q27. What is 'gonotrophic concordance'?
Answer: The physiological relationship between blood feeding, egg
development, and oviposition cycles in female mosquitoes.
Q28. How do Anopheles mosquitoes position themselves when resting and
feeding?
Answer: At an angle to the surface, with their body tilted upward (unlike Culex
and Aedes which hold the body parallel).
Q29. What is a 'raft' in mosquito biology?
Answer: A mass of eggs laid together floating on water, characteristic of Culex
species.
Q30. How do Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) eggs differ from
Culex eggs in arrangement?
Answer: Aedes albopictus lays eggs singly on the sides of containers above the
waterline; Culex lays eggs in floating rafts.
Q31. What is the pupal stage of mosquitoes called?
Answer: The pupa (plural: pupae), sometimes called 'tumblers' due to their
tumbling motion.
Q32. Do mosquito pupae feed?
Answer: No, mosquito pupae do not feed; they are a non-feeding transitional
stage.
Q33. What is the role of the siphon in mosquito larvae?
Answer: The siphon (breathing tube) allows larvae to breathe air at the water
surface.
Q34. Which mosquito genus has no siphon and must rest parallel to the
water surface to breathe?
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 3
Answer: Egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Q2. Which life stages of a mosquito are aquatic?
Answer: Egg, larva, and pupa.
Q3. How many larval instars do mosquitoes typically have?
Answer: Four larval instars.
Q4. What is the primary food source for mosquito larvae?
Answer: Microorganisms, algae, and organic debris in water.
Q5. Which sex of mosquito requires a blood meal for egg development?
Answer: The female.
Q6. What do male mosquitoes feed on?
Answer: Nectar and plant sugars.
Q7. What is the typical lifespan of an adult female mosquito?
Answer: A few weeks to several months depending on species and conditions.
Q8. What genus of mosquito is the primary vector of West Nile virus in
Minnesota?
Answer: Culex, primarily Culex pipiens and Culex tarsalis.
Q9. What is the most common floodwater mosquito species in Minnesota?
Answer: Aedes vexans.
Q10. How does Aedes vexans lay its eggs?
Answer: Singly on moist soil or leaf litter in areas subject to flooding.
Q11. What triggers Aedes vexans eggs to hatch?
Answer: Flooding of the soil where eggs were deposited.
Q12. What is 'diapause' in mosquito biology?
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 1
,Answer: A period of suspended development that allows eggs or adults to
survive unfavorable conditions such as winter.
Q13. Which mosquito species in Minnesota overwinters as an adult?
Answer: Culex pipiens overwinters as an adult female.
Q14. Which Minnesota mosquito species can overwinter as eggs?
Answer: Aedes species such as Aedes vexans overwinter as diapausing eggs.
Q15. What is a 'pitcher plant mosquito'?
Answer: Wyeomyia smithii, a mosquito that breeds exclusively in the water-filled
leaves of pitcher plants.
Q16. What is the minimum water temperature required for mosquito larval
development?
Answer: Generally above 50°F (10°C); development accelerates as
temperatures rise.
Q17. How long does it take a mosquito to complete its life cycle under ideal
conditions?
Answer: As little as 7–10 days from egg to adult.
Q18. What is the primary breeding habitat for Culex pipiens?
Answer: Stagnant, organically enriched water such as catch basins, ditches, and
containers.
Q19. What is the typical flight range of Aedes vexans?
Answer: Up to several miles from the breeding site.
Q20. What sensory cues do female mosquitoes use to locate hosts?
Answer: Carbon dioxide, body heat, moisture, and body odors.
Q21. What is 'autogeny' in mosquito biology?
Answer: The ability of some female mosquitoes to produce the first batch of
eggs without a blood meal.
Q22. What is the difference between permanent and temporary water
mosquito habitats?
Answer: Permanent water habitats persist year-round (ponds, marshes), while
temporary habitats flood periodically (ditches, floodplains).
Q23. Name two tree-hole breeding mosquito species found in Minnesota.
Answer: Aedes triseriatus (eastern treehole mosquito) and Aedes japonicus.
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 2
, Q24. What disease can Aedes triseriatus transmit?
Answer: La Crosse encephalitis (LAC), a type of arboviral encephalitis.
Q25. What is the primary vector of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)?
Answer: Culiseta melanura is the primary enzootic vector; bridge vectors include
various Culex and Aedes species.
Q26. Which invasive container-breeding mosquito species has been
detected in Minnesota?
Answer: Aedes japonicus (Asian bush mosquito) has established populations in
Minnesota.
Q27. What is 'gonotrophic concordance'?
Answer: The physiological relationship between blood feeding, egg
development, and oviposition cycles in female mosquitoes.
Q28. How do Anopheles mosquitoes position themselves when resting and
feeding?
Answer: At an angle to the surface, with their body tilted upward (unlike Culex
and Aedes which hold the body parallel).
Q29. What is a 'raft' in mosquito biology?
Answer: A mass of eggs laid together floating on water, characteristic of Culex
species.
Q30. How do Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) eggs differ from
Culex eggs in arrangement?
Answer: Aedes albopictus lays eggs singly on the sides of containers above the
waterline; Culex lays eggs in floating rafts.
Q31. What is the pupal stage of mosquitoes called?
Answer: The pupa (plural: pupae), sometimes called 'tumblers' due to their
tumbling motion.
Q32. Do mosquito pupae feed?
Answer: No, mosquito pupae do not feed; they are a non-feeding transitional
stage.
Q33. What is the role of the siphon in mosquito larvae?
Answer: The siphon (breathing tube) allows larvae to breathe air at the water
surface.
Q34. Which mosquito genus has no siphon and must rest parallel to the
water surface to breathe?
Minnesota Pesticide Category L – Mosquito Control 2026 Practice Test | Page 3
