Giant Microbes - Mosquito (Culex pipiens)

 There are thousands of mosquito varieties that exist all over the world. They grow just about anywhere there’s water and temperate climates.

Some common genera of mosquitoes include Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex. Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquitoes are known to carry and spread malaria. Aedes aegypti became infamous for spreading yellow fever. Culex pipiens is the common household mosquito found all over the U.S. All three of these mosquito species can carry West Nile Virus.

Only the females feed on blood from vertebrates. Males feed on plant juice and nectar. They have olfactive and thermic organs that detect carbon dioxide, warmth, and heat from their prey. They can sense their next meal from up to 50 meters. That’s half the size of a football field!