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Mosquito Feeding
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Capillary feeding by Anopheles gambiae. The proboscis is inserted along the lumen of the blood vessel. Credit: Choumet et al, PLOS 2012.

 2 2 Mosquito finds blood vessel
                                                                                                     

Mouthparts of Anopheles gambiae moving under the skin of a mouse. Credit: Choumet et al, PLOS 2012.

 3 3 Mosquito mouthparts
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Mosquito Feeding
1 Mosquito Feeding
Mosquito finds blood vessel

Capillary feeding by Anopheles gambiae. The proboscis is inserted along the lumen of the blood vessel. Credit: Choumet et al, PLOS 2012.

 2 Mosquito finds blood vessel
Mosquito mouthparts

Mouthparts of Anopheles gambiae moving under the skin of a mouse. Credit: Choumet et al, PLOS 2012.

 3 Mosquito mouthparts
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They have an undeniable knack for getting under our skin (in more ways than one), but how do mosquitoes find their way to a blood vessel? Research carried out by Valerie Choumet of the Institut Pasteur in Paris uses intravital video microscopy to give us an incredible, close-up view of how these blood-suckers bite.

The study, conducted to visualise how malaria-infected mosquitoes pass on pathogens, revealed that a mosquito's proboscis (the mouth part used for sucking blood) is actually comprised of several parts that spread out once the skin is punctured. The needlelike appendage is also highly flexible allowing the mosquito to probe around under the skin in search of a blood vessel.

The video above shows a mosquito using its proboscis to probe for a blood vessel, while the clip below depicts the separate sections of the insect's mouth parts. Dinner is served!