Take a closer look at getting a mosquito bite [video]

The video below could well be used in insect repellent advertisements. I mean, you've probably surprised one of these little winged vampires before or after a meal whose main course is their own heated blood (yes, this looks like a movie B script). But when you look closely ... the thing really gets another shape, huh?

Ok, come on, the mosquito in the sequence seems capable of killing a duck in flight, given the proportions. But the principle must always be the same: the little bastard uses saliva to anesthetize the place (after all, he does not want to draw your attention) and finally inserts his “small” retractable needle (proboscis), starting the feast .

Well, what about the itch? In fact, this has little to do with the insect. It turns out that the animal's saliva components trigger the immune system's reaction, which sends the “sentinel” cells called mast cells to the site. It is these, in fact, that release histamine, which causes itching.

When this occurs, however, the mosquito, with its properly "lined" paunch, must be far away - although one of the subjects in the video above was not so lucky, thanks to the well-given slap of the masochist who recorded the bite.