Family Culicidae - Mosquitoes

wigglers (larvae), tumblers (pupae)

kyoo-LISS-ih-dee

Classification of Aedini also reflected in(1)(2)

Culicidae Meigen 1818

174 spp. in 14 genera in our area(3), >3700 spp. in 46 genera and 145 subgenera worldwide, arranged in 2 subfamilies(2)(4) [many subgenera, esp. in the Aedini, are often treated as separate genera -- cf.(1)]

3-15 mm

Wings with scales on veins and along margins; legs and proboscis long; antennae with 6 or more segments, plumose on males and short-haired on females

Cosmopolitan; Maps of Texas' 85 spp. (7)

Larvae aquatic, mainly in standing water (temporary pools, water in discarded containers, saltmarshes, treeholes, etc.); some Anopheles spp. lay eggs in very slow moving streams/brooks.

Mostly spring and summer in temperate climates

Male and female adults feed on nectar and plant juices and only females feed on blood because a blood meal is usually required for development of eggs. Hosts are tetrapods. • Larvae feed on algae, protozoans, and organic debris filtered from water; a few species prey on other mosquito larvae

The eggs laid on water surface or above the waterline in areas subject to flooding; eggs hatch in spring; 4 larval instars; larva stage may last from less than a week to over a month, depending on temperature and species; pupal stage typically lasts under a week; adults emerge from pupae at water surface; one to several generations per year.

Eggs egg rafts larvae pupa adult female male9

Chironomidae, Chaoboridae