Jerry Ledbetter, age 11, of Marion, N.C., for his question:

How long does a mosquito live?

The mosquito life cycle develops in four stages. Stage one is a raft of eggs floating on a pond or marshy mud flat. In stage two, the eggs hatch into wrigly, water dwelling larvae. In stage three, the larvae become pupae sleeping at the surface of the water. With stage four, the pupae hatch into winged adults.

The adult, buzz bombing mosquitoes live only a few days   merely long enough to mate and produce eggs for a new generation of mosquitoes. However, the first three stages of mosquito existence may take several weeks or several months   depending upon the weather and the seasons,