Last year, as I was sitting by the fire at my winterized cottage, a mosquito came buzzing by. What the heck? Why was there one buzzing around at the end of January? Aren’t mosquitoes only supposed to live for a week or two?—Susan Murray, Rideau Lakes, Ont.
You’re half right. “Lifespan varies a lot between mosquito species, but generally, yes, adult males live around one to two weeks,” says Sherry Du, a PhD biology student studying mosquitoes at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus. Female mossies, though, usually live longer—up to several months longer. And sometimes these elderly ladies hunker down for the winter—in logs, animal burrows, or cottage basements—then emerge when mild weather returns. Your mosquito visitor might have mistaken a January thaw for spring. She’s a bug, not a meteorologist.
Cottage Q&A: The reason behind late-season mosquitoes
But both Du and her PhD colleague Hannah Bodmer think that what you most likely saw was a chironomid—a non-biting midge. This group of bugs is one of the most diverse and abundant families of aquatic insects in the world, says Bodmer. Most midges are active in the summer, but some species are highly adapted to freezing conditions. Their aquatic larvae are dormant in the summer, and they develop, then eventually emerge, in the winter. Most relevant to your question? “They can look very similar to mosquitoes,” says Bodmer.
The adults can survive down to -20°C, but on very cold days, you’re more likely to spot them walking along the snow near water. “They don’t have enough energy to fly,” says Bodmer. On winter days when the temperature is a few degrees above zero, they’ll take to the air, especially when it’s breeding time. “Sometimes, you’ll see these mass mating swarms of chironomids,” says Bodmer. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to witness one yet.”
Bucket List…incomplete.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2025 issue of Cottage Life.
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