Do Mosquitoes Die in Winter?

Animals

During the summer, mosquitoes seem to be swarming everywhere, but in winter they vanish. It may appear that they've all died. But if you think about it, that couldn't be true, if it were, where would the mosquitoes come from the next spring?

Mosquito eggs hatch plant and animal matter in water, and the worm-like larvae feed on small in the water before they emerge as flying adults. But if cold weather is coming, the eggs don't hatch; instead, they stay in the cold water or ice until the following spring.

Sometimes, mosquitoes lay their eggs in the soft mud next to ponds. Then, when the spring thaw comes and the pond water rises and covers the mud, the eggs hatch.

Some mosquito eggs and larvae may even spend the winter locked into the ice that forms in plants when the plants freeze! And some adult mosquitoes go into a form of hibernation during the winter, resuming their flying lives the following spring.