If you've ever been bitten by a mosquito, it was a female

If you’ve ever been bitten by a mosquito, it was a female one. While we say we’ve been 'bitten,' a mosquito doesn’t actually bite. It sucks your blood. Female skeeters pierce the skin with their mouth called a proboscis (say "pro-boss-siss"), which is a straw-like tube that covers six thin needles (called stylets) the mosquito uses to cut the skin, find a blood vessel and suck out the blood. Females have to drink blood to produce their eggs. Males, on the other hand, don’t produce young so they stick to slurping up nectar and plant juices instead.