Sherry Fitzgerald, age 12, of Kingston, Ont., Canada, for her question:

HOW DOES A MOSQUITO BITE?

Only the female mosquito of a few species bites animals and man. They need blood for the development of eggs inside their bodies and obtain it from their victims.

Mosquitoes don't really bite since they cannot open their jaws. They actually stab six needlelike parts called stylets through their victims' skin. The stylets are protected by a mosquito's lower lip, called the labium.

Most people are allergic to the saliva that flows from the mosquito during the stabbing. A welt, called a mosquito bite, forms. And it itches a lot.

After a mosquito has sipped enough blood, she pulls out the stylets and the labium slips into place over them. Then the insect flies away  unless you swat her first.