Good Questions: Mosquito Food, Frogtown, West Nile
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO)-- Karen from Coon Rapids wants to know: What do mosquitoes eat besides our blood?
According to Mike McLean of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, mosquitoes need natural sugar for energy. They eat things like fruits and plant nectar.
Only female mosquitoes bite people, so they use the proteins in human blood to lay eggs.
Michael from Minneapolis asks: Why is the St. Paul neighborhood called Frogtown?
History buffs are not exactly sure why, but Aaron Rubenstein of Historic St. Paul says frogs are the best explanation.
The neighborhood was developed in the 1860s and 1870s. At the time, the area was marshy and full of frogs.
The Germans settled in the area, which then included south of University Avenue, and called the area "Froschenberg," which translated into "Frog City."
Dominic from Fridley asks: How did the West Nile Virus get to Minnesota?
The West Nile Virus made its way to the East Coast of the United State in 1999 by birds.
"Either these birds were …brought here in the pet trade or through zoos," McLean said.
It then came to Minnesota in 2002 via bird again.
"The birds get it in their system and then they go south for the winter," McLean. "And then some of the birds go back to the same place and some of the birds move to a different flyaway. So it sort of marched systematically from the East Coast to the West Coast."
The virus is carried by a mosquito that bites both humans and birds.
