They attack fish, wild animals and pets. Their larvae are soferocious they can eat small fish and tadpoles. With bodies thesize of a quarter, the giant insects can bite through clothing andare known to attack at all times of the day.
“It feel like you’re being stabbed,” one Florida residenttold Fox Orlando, describing the bites of the gallinippermosquitoes. And these massive mosquitoes are predicted to plagueFlorida this summer.
The giant insects usually appear after significant rainstorms orfloods. Florida already had a high number of gallinippers lastyear, and is anticipating even higher numbers this year. AfterTropical Storm Debby produced torrential storms and dumped morethan 20 inches of rain across some areas of Florida last June, thestate’s gallinipper mosquitoes were given the perfect breedingground to lay their eggs. The massive bloodsuckers are expected tohatch in the Sunshine State this year, plaguing its victims withitchy and painful bites.
“Because of the events last year, and the eggs laid, we canexpect large numbers of these mosquitoes again,” a Universityof Florida entomologist, researcher Phil Kaufman, told theGainesville Sun. “We suggest people wear long-sleeve pants andshirts. [But] just doing that may not be enough for this type ofmosquito; you’re going to have to use one of the insect repellantsto dissuade them from landing. The bite really hurts, I can attestto that.”
As opposed to the state’s usual resident mosquitoes, which biteprimarily at dawn and dusk, the gallinippers feed day and night, atall times. And scientists say that because of their large size, thepests may even be able to resist insect repellants – even thosecontaining the chemical DEET. And most clothes cannot stop thevicious insects from biting.
“They’re biting through cotton canvas shorts, Floridaresident Ken Clark told Ann Arbor News. “We’ve never seen amosquito go through something like this.”
When the species was first referenced in the late 1800s, onewriter described the bloodsuckers as the “slyest, meanest andmost venomous of them all”. But even though the mosquitoes areneither deadly, nor carry any human diseases, their sting can feellike a “stab” – leaving a mark that won’t quickly fade.
Paul Myers, administrator for the Alachua County HealthDepartment, is warning locals that they could be facing “a veryrough summer.” And together with the Burmese python infestationthat has plagued Florida for years, travelers might choose to thinktwice about visiting the Sunshine State this year.
