Mosquitoes…or TERMINATOR Mosquitoes

This past week end while having a family gathering it started to rain on us. Soon after the rain these giant mosquitoes arrived on scene to eat us up. But the thing of it was these mosquitoes were bigger and harder to kill. We would swat them and they were like miniature little terminator mosquitoes who did not die on the first hit, they stood there and you had to hit them two or three more times before they finally fell from your arm. Well, I had to go back to work and ask one of our environmental guys what kind of mosquito was this. Here is what he told me.

Psorophora ciliata is commonly known as the shaggy-legged gallinipper throughout the Unites States. This insect is among the largest mosquitoes found locally. They breed in fields, temporary pools, and ditches and their preferred habitat in open, unshaded areas. As with all mosquitoes only the females bite. These females are very persistent attackers at all hours of the day. Thiers bites can be more painful than smaller mosquitoes. Their eggs remain viable for years after they are laid, waiting for the right moment to hatch. What’s interesting about these particular mosquitoes is they immerge after heavy rains or floods. This explains their sudden arrival in our area.

So now you and I both know they are not terminator mosquitoes but gallinippers!

Thanks to Tony David of SRMT Environment

For more information, contact:

Julia Jacobs

SRMT Environmental Outreach

412 State Route 37

Akwesasne, New York 13655

518-358-5937

Helping Build A Better Tomorrow