Huge Florida mosquitoes: Monster insects poised to strike Florida

Huge Florida mosquitoes the size of a quarter, whose sting has been compared to a knifing, are set to invade Florida ? if the rainy season is wet enough.

By Marc Lallanilla,?Live Science / March 9, 2013

This perfectly ordinary mosquito is shown at high magnification. The huge mosquitoes poised to invade Florida are nearly this big without magnification ? they're about 20 times larger than ordinary mosquitoes.

Pat Wellenbach/aP

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One of the most ferocious insects you've ever heard of ? it's the size of a quarter and its painful bite has been compared to being knifed ? is set to invade Florida this summer.

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The Sunshine State, already home to man-eating sinkholes, invading Burmese pythons, swarming sharks, tropical storms and other disasters, can expect to see an explosion of shaggy-haired gallinippers (Psorophora ciliata), a type of giant mosquito, according to entomologist Phil Kaufman of the University of Florida.

Gallinipper eggs hatch after a rainstorm or flood, and the state saw a big jump in the numbers of gallinippers last summer after Tropical Storm Debby dumped its load on Florida. Eggs laid last year could produce a bumper crop of the blood-sucking bugs this summer if Florida sees a soggy rainy season.

"I wouldn't be surprised, given the numbers we saw last year," Kaufman said in a statement. "When we hit the rainy cycle, we may see that again."

As insects go, gallinippers are particularly formidable. Their eggs lay dormant for years, awaiting the floodwaters that will enable them to hatch. Even in their larval stage, gallinippers are so tough they'll eat tadpoles and other small aquatic prey.

And as adults, the voracious pests feed day and night (unlike everyday mosquitoes, which generally feed only at dawn and dusk). Their bodies are strong enough to bite through clothing, and they're known to go after pets, wild animals and even fish, MyFoxOrlando.com reports.

"It's about 20 times bigger than the sort of typical, Florida mosquito that you find," Anthony Pelaez of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry told Fox Orlando. "And it's mean, and it goes after people, and it bites, and it hurts."

Pelaez described the gallinipper's bite as so painful it "feels like you're being stabbed."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/9do9M8516r8/Huge-Florida-mosquitoes-Monster-insects-poised-to-strike-Florida

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