Which statement about larval mosquitoes is true?

Which statement about larval mosquitoes is true?

• A. They can fly
• B. They breathe air through a siphon tube near the last abdominal segment
• C. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts
• D. They have wings

Answer: (D)

Larval mosquitoes are aquatic and cannot fly. They stay at the water surface and obtain air through a specialized respiratory opening near the end of the abdomen. In many species this is a siphon tube that reaches to the surface, allowing them to breathe while mostly submerged as they feed on organisms in the water. Wings and piercing-sucking mouthparts are features of later life stages (pupae or adults), not the larvae. So the true statement is that larval mosquitoes breathe air through a siphon tube near the last abdominal segment.

Larval mosquitoes are aquatic and cannot fly. They stay at the water surface and obtain air through a specialized respiratory opening near the end of the abdomen. In many species this is a siphon tube that reaches to the surface, allowing them to breathe while mostly submerged as they feed on organisms in the water. Wings and piercing-sucking mouthparts are features of later life stages (pupae or adults), not the larvae. So the true statement is that larval mosquitoes breathe air through a siphon tube near the last abdominal segment.