ENY 3005 Family Identification

Diptera: Culicidae

 Common name: mosquitoes

Identifying characteristics for the family Culicidae include:

• Wings with scales on veins and along the margins.
• Proboscis long.
• Antennae with 6 or more segments (suborder Nematocera), plumose on males and short-haired on females.

• There are about 150 species of mosquitoes in North America.
• Larvae are aquatic, most feeding on algae, protozoans, and organic debris; a few species are predaceous on other mosquito larvae.
• Males and females feed on nectar and plant juices. Only females feed on blood.
• Females vector pathogens of major diseases including malaria (protozoan), yellow fever (virus), filariasis (nematode), dengue (virus), and certain types of encephalitis (virus).
• Yellow fever decimated the French army stationed in Haiti, contributing to Napoleon's decision to sell Louisiana to the United States in 1803 and assisting the Haitians in securing their independence in 1804.

References:

• Page 266 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 328 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Page 541 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Pages 500-504 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• St Louis Encephalitis Mosquito - Culex nigripalpus
• Malaria
• Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever