Any member of the family Culicidae in the insect order Diptera. Mosquitoes are holometabolous insects and all larval stages are aquatic. Adults are recognized by their long proboscis for piercing and sucking, and characteristic scaled wing venation. This is a relatively large group of well-known flies with nearly 3000 species in 34 genera reported in the world. There are 13 genera and 167 recognized species of mosquitoes in North America north of Mexico. Almost 75% of these species belong to three genera: Aedes (78 species), Culex (29 species), and Anopheles (16 species). Adult females lay their eggs on or near water. Most larvae, or wrigglers, feed on algae and organic debris that they filter from the water with their oral brushes, although certain genera may be predaceous and feed on other mosquito larvae. Larvae go through three molts and four instars before pupation. Pupae, or tumblers, are active but nonfeeding stages in which metamorphosis to the adult stage occurs. Both larvae and pupae usually breathe through air tubes at the surface of the water. Adult male mosquitoes are relatively short-lived, and do not suck blood, but feed primarily on nectar and other plant juices. Females also feed on nectar as their primary energy source, but they require a blood meal for egg production in most species. Some mosquito species are very host-specific, blood-feeding only on humans, birds, mammals, or even reptiles and amphibians, although many species will feed on any available host. Mosquitoes are of major importance in both human and veterinary medicine. They can cause severe annoyance and blood loss when they occur in dense populations, and they act as vectors of three important groups of disease-causing organisms: Plasmodium, the protozoan parasite that produces malaria; filarial worms, parasitic nematodes causing elephantiasis in humans and heartworm disease in canines; and arboviruses, which are the causative agents of yellow fever, dengue fever, LaCrosse encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, western equine encephalomyelitis, eastern and Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and several other viral diseases. Human malaria is transmitted exclusively by Anopheles, filariasis by Culex, Anopheles, and Aedes, and arboviruses primarily by Culex and Aedes species. Arboviral encephalitides Heartworms Insecta Malaria Medical parasitology Yellow fever |
