Female mosquitoes require a sizable blood meal as a protein source to produce viable eggs. What does this primarily mean?

Female mosquitoes indeed require a blood meal primarily because it provides necessary proteins and nutrients essential for egg development. This means that the blood from living hosts offers the critical components these mosquitoes need to produce viable eggs.

While nectar serves as a food source for energy, it does not offer the protein that female mosquitoes need specifically for egg production. Furthermore, without a blood meal, female mosquitoes often cannot develop their eggs to completion, which is why the need for blood from living hosts is crucial for their reproductive cycle. The options that suggest other food sources or survival without a blood meal misrepresent the specific nutritional needs of female mosquitoes for successful reproduction.