give them. The journey was long and
hard. The Hebrews sometimes questioned
Moses’ leadership and lost faith
in God. When Moses got frustrated
with some rebels, God saw it as a lack of
faith and denied him entrance to the
promised land.
Moses’ last official act was to renew the
covenant. He then climbed Mount Pisgah,
on the eastern edge of the Jordan
River. He is believed to have died
there—able to see, but not to enter, the
promised land. According to the Bible,
Moses lived for 120 years.
#More to explore
Bible • Christianity • Islam • Judaism
• Palestine • Torah
Mosque
A mosque is a place of prayer for Muslims,
or followers of the religion of
Islam. The first mosque was the courtyard
in the home of Muhammad,
Islam’s founder.
The inside of a mosque always includes
an open space for worship. Rugs or mats
Some of the
other plagues
from God
were frogs,
locusts, flies,
darkness, and
hail.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, is
decorated with stained glass and mosaics.
188 Mosque BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
may cover the floor. A nook in one wall,
called a mihrab, shows the direction of
Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. To the right
of the mihrab is a platform or small
tower, called a minbar. Religious leaders
climb steps up to the minbar, where
they speak to the worshippers. Every
mosque must also have a source of running
water for washing. Muslims are
required to wash before prayer.
Outside most mosques is a tall tower,
called a minaret. From the minaret a
crier, or muezzin, calls Muslims to
prayer. Some mosques have up to six
minarets.
Mosques are different in some ways
from churches and synagogues. They do
not have chairs or seats. The worshippers
stand together, barefoot, in rows.
They bow down and kneel when praying.
Men and women worship separately.
Mosques never contain statues or
pictures, and music and singing are forbidden.
#More to explore
Church • Islam • Synagogue
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are insects that are found
almost everywhere in the world. Female
mosquitoes bite animals and people,
leaving itchy bumps. Mosquitoes can
spread malaria, yellow fever, and other
serious diseases through their bites.
Mosquitoes are part of a large group of
insects called flies.
A mosquito has a soft body with a hard
covering called an exoskeleton. It has
two narrow wings, two antennas, and six
long legs. A female mosquito usually has
a mouthpart called a proboscis, which
looks like a long tube. She uses her proboscis
to pierce skin and suck blood
from animals. She needs the blood for
her eggs to develop. Male mosquitoes do
not bite. Their mouthparts are designed
for feeding on plant juices.
Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on the
surface of standing water. The eggs
hatch into long, wriggling larvae. The
larvae live at the surface of the water.
They molt (shed their outside covering)
a few times and then change into a new
form, called pupae. Pupae also live in
the water. They develop into adults that
can fly away and reproduce.
Mosquitoes are considered pests because
they carry so many diseases. But getting
rid of mosquitoes is difficult. One way is
to drain the water out of ditches,
swamps, and ponds where they lay their
eggs. To destroy full-grown mosquitoes,
insecticides are sometimes used. Insecti-
When female mosquitoes bite, they inject
saliva into the wound. This makes it easier
for them to draw blood. The saliva is what
causes mosquito bites to itch.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Mosquito 189
cides are powders or liquids for killing
harmful insects. But they can be dangerous
for animals and people, too.
#More to explore
Fly • Insect • Malaria
Moss
Mosses are small, seedless plants that
often grow in moist, shady places. More
than 10,000 species, or types, of moss
grow throughout the world. They
belong to a group of plants called bryophytes.
Liverworts and hornworts are
other plants in this group.
Mosses range in size from too small to
see to more than 40 inches (1 meter)
long. They grow closely together in
thick mats. Many types of moss form
velvety green carpets on forest floors.
These green mosses also grow on trees
and rocks. Peat, or sphagnum, mosses
grow in patches in bogs, in swamps,
near ponds, and in other wet places.
They may be green, red, orange, or
brown. Granite, or rock, mosses grow on
rocks in cold regions. They are reddish
brown or black.
Unlike most other plants, mosses reproduce
through cells called spores, not
seeds. A stalklike structure produces and
releases the spores. When a spore lands
on a moist surface, it grows into a low,
branching structure. This structure
spreads across the surface of the soil,
wood, or rock. Leafy shoots grow up
from this low part of the plant. These
shoots produce male and female sex
cells. Once two sex cells join together,
they grow into a new spore-producing
stalk. New moss plants also can grow
from pieces of old moss plants.
Some living things called mosses are not
really mosses at all. Some, such as Irish
moss, are actually algae. Others—
including beard moss, Iceland moss,
reindeer moss, and oak moss—are
lichens. Club mosses and Spanish moss
are plants, but they are not related to
true mosses.
