Male mosquitoes die fast. Females last longer.

A typical mosquito lives somewhere between a week and a month, depending on gender and luck. Males are the short-timers — they live about a week, mostly sipping nectar and looking for a mate. Females, the ones that bite you, can survive several weeks in good conditions.

The big variable is temperature and humidity. Warm, wet weather keeps them alive longer. A female mosquito in peak summer might make it 4–6 weeks. Cold snaps kill them fast, and indoor mosquitoes in winter can survive months by going dormant. Most mosquitoes in the wild just get eaten, dried out, or smacked before they reach old age.

So when you’re swatting one, just remember: that mosquito might have had a full life by mosquito standards. Or it was a baby. You’ll never know.