Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Anopheles punctipennis

Anopheles punctipennis - female Anopheles punctipennis - female Skeeter at Lights - Anopheles punctipennis - female In cave - Anopheles punctipennis - female mosquito with colored wings - Anopheles punctipennis - female mosquito with colored wings - Anopheles punctipennis - female Skeeters out already! - Anopheles punctipennis - female Anopheles punctipennis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera))
Infraorder Culicomorpha
Family Culicidae (Mosquitoes)
Genus Anopheles
Species punctipennis (Anopheles punctipennis)
Pronunciation
punkt-ee-PENN-iss
Identification
Larva: head hairs 5, 6, 7 are long, multibranched and plumose. Head hairs 8 and 9 usually with 5 to 7 branches. Lateral setae on abdominal segments IV-VI are not plumose.

Adult Female: wing pattern is all you need for identification. Very distinctive wings with predominantly dark scales and cream colored scales in the costal and subcostal areas (see photo).
Range
most of United States plus parts of southern Canada
Habitat
Larvae are usually found in semi-permanent and permanent ponds, rock pools, and margins of slow moving streams. (1)
Season
Larvae: May - September
Adults: All year
Food
Females prefer mammals and birds for blood meals.
Life Cycle
Adult females overwinter in abandoned buildings, cellars, caves, hollow trees, and similar habitats. This is a multivoltine species (multiple generations per year).
Internet References
photo of distinctive wing pattern (Michael Hildreth, South Dakota State U.)
North American distribution map and other info (impact-malaria.com)
larva photos indicating distinctive features (Michael Hildreth, South Dakota State U.)
adult photo and drawing plus description and other info (Virginia Mosquito Control Association)
Works Cited
1.Identification Guide to the Mosquitos of Connecticut
By Theodore G. Andreadis, Michael C. Thomas, John J. Shepard