To all those reading, I am Big Homie, age 15. The project my dad gave me for the week was to find out the answer to a common asked question these days concerning the Coronavirus. In the following, I will share with you the conclusions to my research.

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when those annoying blood-sucking vampires come and feast on our blood. Sorry to sound so dire, but it’s the truth. Mosquitoes seem to just love annoying us by pricking us with their little mouth-needle and suck our blood. But now that we have a pandemic on our hands, this raises a question. Can the new coronavirus, COVID-19, spread through mosquitoes? To answer that question, I’ll be showing you the anatomy of a mosquito, and in the end, demonstrate how it can or can’t spread from mosquitoes.

The anatomy of a mosquito is simple. You have the head, thorax (or torso), and abdomen. The head has the mosquito’s eyes, antennae, and proboscis (it’s blood-sucking, mouth-needle). Thorax houses its wings and legs. And the abdomen houses it’s stomach. Does this make you wonder how they breathe? Mosquitoes do not have lungs like we do, so they breathe through tiny holes on both sides of their abdomen called spiracles. These spiracles spread oxygen throughout the mosquito’s body. Now that we know the anatomy of a mosquito, here are some facts about the COVID-19.

COVID-19 is what is known as a respiratory virus, meaning people get infected with the virus by breathing it in through their mouth or nose, though it is possible to get the virus through your eyes. Examples of respiratory viruses include SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome), which are both part of the coronavirus family.

Now, to answer the question: Can COVID-19 spread from mosquito bites? The answer would be no, it cannot. Why, because, as I said above, mosquitoes do not have lungs! Therefore, they cannot inhale and exhale like we do, instead breathing through their spiracles. The World Health Organization (WHO) also posted on their website, has part of their “Myth Busters” page, saying that this new coronavirus cannot spread through mosquitoes.

While little is known about how COVID-19 jumped from animal to human, rest assured that you do not have to worry about getting the coronavirus if you get bit by a mosquito. Now, if you excuse me, I need to find a can of bug spray. Just because I cannot get the coronavirus from them, doesn’t mean I want to get bitten by one.