What Would Happen to Your Body If 1000 Mosquitoes Bite You?

So Barry is running along the shore of the lake as fast as possible. He knows that if he stops, his life will turn into a nightmare in no time. 1,000 mosquitoes are about to bite him! But what he doesn’t know is that he’ll be okay after all. So, don’t be afraid, Barry, and stop!

Mosquitoes are slow; they fly at a little more than 1 mph. And you can’t run forever. So, after a couple of hours of pointless running, Barry stops. He sweats and emits a smell attractive to insects. One little mosquito flies up to him. It buzzes next to his ear, sits on his sweaty neck, and bites.

The insect pierces the skin with a special mouth apparatus called a proboscis. The mosquito starts pumping blood through this needle. Its saliva gets into Barry’s body and causes an allergic reaction. More precisely, it’s Barry’s immune system that starts this reaction. It perceives the mosquito’s saliva as an enemy and sends a unique chemical substance to the bite site.

The fight between this substance and the “invader” causes an allergic reaction: redness, swelling, and the worst thing — itching. Barry can scratch himself for several hours or even days — it all depends on how his body will react to the bite. The mosquito fills up with Barry’s blood and flies away. It does it not for pleasure but because it needs to lay eggs. Protein in the blood is necessary for these insects to reproduce. Their eggs can’t grow without this substance.

Yeah, almost all biting mosquitoes are females. Male mosquitoes prefer plant and flower nectar. Hey, they’re guys. So, the female mosquito flies away from Barry. She sits down on the shore of the lake, where a large mosquito base is located. Here, these insects lay eggs, drink water, and chill in the sun. There are several hundred thousand of them. And they’re all hungry. The female mosquito brings with her the smell of Barry’s sweat, which is attractive to the rest of the mosquitoes, too.

There are about 3,500 species of these insects on Earth. Some of them love the smell of sugar, perfume, or deodorant, and some enjoy the smell of dirty feet. Hmmm! Your attractiveness to mosquitoes also depends on what you have eaten today. Lots of candies and chocolate? Great, now, mosquitoes feel a faint sweet smell coming from you.

Have you eaten garlic and onions? Mosquitoes probably won’t want to deal with you. And not only they, most likely. So, the smell of Barry’s sweat is perfect for all mosquitoes on the shore. They go mad, take off, and head for the poor guy. If you walk near the water when the evening comes, if you’re sweaty, wearing black clothes, and have O-type blood, then you have all the chances to get bitten by mosquitoes. And Barry meets all the criteria.

The first mosquitoes land on Barry’s feet. They bite him and start pumping blood. One tiny mosquito can draw a droplet of blood the size of half a grain of rice! It’s nothing at all. But several dozen of these bites? It’s bad. Barry fights mosquitoes off with his hands, but the insects keep coming. They can’t miss such a delicious dinner.

10, 20, 50, one hundred mosquitoes. They cover Barry’s legs. The skin swells and turns red. Barry feels a burning sensation. His immune system is working at 100%, trying to reduce the damage and drive the enemies away. But the more actively Barry’s body defenses work, the worse he feels. Mosquitoes sit on his hands and on his wet T-shirt stuck to his body. Yes, their mouthpiece can pierce a thin layer of fabric. Barry tries to run away. He stumbles over a rock and falls.

Some insects finish their feast and fly away to tell their friends about the free food. Mosquitoes from all over the lake come to try Barry. 200 mosquitoes are drinking his blood. Three, five, seven, nine hundred. And now — one thousand mosquitoes have bitten him! Together they have pumped out a small glass of blood.

But the worst thing is that they continue biting him. Nothing can stop them now, even though they were supposed to bite him only 1,000 times. The only chance to escape is water. Barry, ignoring the itch, gets up and runs to the shore of the lake. Meanwhile, 100,000 mosquitoes have already bitten him. Sorry, Barry, but we have to entertain the audience. Don’t worry — your recovery will be fast.

He’s getting closer and closer to the water. Mosquitoes are flying in front of his face, so he can’t see the road. But Barry keeps running, waving his hands. Meanwhile, you know this moment when you’re sleeping and one mosquito flies into the room through the window. Just one, but its squeaky sound is so annoying.

And now, imagine a million mosquitoes making this noise. It’s like a saxophone playing high notes. (Sorry if you’re a sax player.) Well, Barry is slowing down, he’s exhausted, and his heart is beating too fast. He no longer feels bites and itches. His body is becoming weak, but he is still moving toward the lake. Mosquitoes have already taken three soda cans of blood from him. And this is serious. Barry is running a fever and has clouded consciousness. His immune system is not coping.

Barry can’t run anymore; he’s struggling to walk. It’s getting harder to make every next step. The shore is only a few feet away, but it doesn’t matter anymore since he has no energy to move. So, he just sits on the grass and accepts the situation. He’s lost a large soda bottle of blood, and this is a lot! This is probably the most large-scale attack of mosquitoes on humans. And then, at the very last moment, salvation appears.

A frog croaks nearby. And another one! Several dozen jumping animals are approaching the shore. They release their tongues like spears and catch mosquitoes. This gives Barry hope. He makes a last-ditch effort to reach the lake. He jumps and... yeaaaah! What a relief! Cold fresh water envelopes his whole body and relieves the itching and irritation from the bites. He waits in the water while the frogs dine on mosquitoes. The remaining insects fly away. Barry crawls out of the lake.

He sees frogs catching mosquitoes and realizes that these annoying insects are necessary for our planet. Frogs live thanks to these tiny monsters. And besides frogs, there are many other animals that feed on mosquitoes. Lizards, spiders, bats, birds, turtles... it’s a huge list! Mosquitoes are an endless source of food for them. One pair can lay two hundred eggs! They grow fast, and their lives are short.

But if all these insects disappear, an ecological catastrophe may begin. Entire animal species may vanish from the face of the earth. The frogs that saved Barry wouldn’t exist. Without frogs, the population of other insects, like flies, would begin to grow. They would reproduce uncontrollably. And then, like falling dominoes, other problems will follow. So, Barry, don’t be angry at mosquitoes; it’s just nature. You better deal with your itchy problem.

His whole body is red, covered with little bumps. He starts scratching himself, but this doesn’t help. He only makes it worse. As long as mosquito saliva remains in his body and the immune system fights it, Barry will feel this itch. Fortunately, there are many oils and ointments to alleviate these effects. But the best way to get rid of the problem is to ignore it. Barry just needs to distract himself with something.

Then, the urge to scratch will disappear. Barry has survived so many mosquito bites without harmful consequences. But some people have problems dealing with just one. It depends on whether a person has allergies.

Some have a small itchy bump, and others have severe inflammation. As for Barry, wasn’t he swell? I mean, didn’t he swell? Okay, I’ll stop. The best way to protect yourself is to use insect spray.

Now, Barry sprays himself with this substance before every run and feels safe. But let’s have a look at another situation! What if he gets attacked by huge dogs? Hey, just kidding, relax, Barry!