Culex Mosquito - Disease Vector

Culex mosquitoes are vectors of one or more important diseases of humans, birds, and other animals. The diseases they vector include arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, or St. Louis encephalitis, but also filariasis and avian malaria. They occur worldwide except for the extreme northern parts of the temperate zone and are the most of mosquitoes encountered in some major U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles. The adult Culex mosquito measures from 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in). The developmental cycle of most species takes about two weeks in warm weather. Culex mosquitoes bite at night, with peak biting activity between 10 PM and 11 PM. Female Culex mosquitoes bite people and animals to obtain blood, which they need to produce eggs. Suitable habitats for egg-laying are small bodies of standing fresh water: puddles, pools, ditches, tin cans, buckets, bottles, unmounted tires, and water storage tanks. Culex Mosquitoes feed on blood from the human body and sit in various places in the house, such as the floor at night at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 08/11/2024. (Footage by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)