the hero eventually burns the giant, but the ashes of the fire become mosquitoes that continue to plague mankind. other myths from the yakuts, goldes (nanai people), and samoyed have the insect arising from the ashes or fragments of some giant creature or demon. similar tales found in native north american myth, with the mosquito arising from the ashes of a man-eater, suggest a common origin. the tatars of the altai had a similar myth, thought to be of native north american origin, involving the fragments of the dead giant, andalma-muus, becoming mosquitoes and other insects. modern era a still from winsor mccay's pioneering 1912 animated film how a mosquito operates winsor mccay's 1912 film how a mosquito operates was one of the earliest works of animation, which has been described as far ahead of its time in technical quality. it depicts a giant mosquito tormenting a sleeping man. the de havilland mosquito was a high-speed aircraft manufactured between 1940 and 1950, and used in many roles.