Identification
Larvae:
- Antennae are shorter than head
- Short siphon with a tuft half as long as the diameter of the base, between pecten teeth
- Saddle on anal segment incomplete
Adult Female:
- Unbanded proboscis
- Scutum with short brown scales and no obvious pattern
- Most easily recognized by the sideways 'B' shaped markings on each abdominal tergite.
Habitat
This is a floodwater mosquito, meaning that the eggs are laid offshore and when a heavy rain comes the water rises, floods the eggs and the egg hatches. Eggs are mainly found in freshwater pools and depressions.
Food
Females prefer only the blood of mammals for protein meals. Like all mosquitoes, they will also take sugary liquids like nectar, honeydew and sap.
Remarks
These mosquitos bite mammals and are known to travel distances from their breeding sites unlike other mosquitos. They are good vectors of EEE and the Cache Valley fever virus has been isolted from them
