Blog Post #5: An Interesting Find

 

In this image above you will see two mosquitos. On the left, is a regular old Culiseta melanura. The mosquito on the right is one of the largest known mosquito species found in Northeastern America. It's scientific name is Psorophora ciliata, and this species is more commonly known by its' unofficial name: the "Gallinipper". The Gallinipper is a rather menacing looking insect, especially considering its size in comparison to a normal mosquito. That thing is a monster!! I want to make this abundantly clear, the mosquito on the left is an average sized mosquito (for size reference). Imagine the mosquito on the right biting you. I mean look at the proboscis on that thing!

What makes this find unique is trapping Gallinippers is a rare occurrence. In fact, this was the first one ever trapped by the Vermont State Agency of Agriculture. They are rarely found in the traps we use-- gravid traps, CDC traps, or resting boxes (for more info on traps, checkout some of my other blog posts that go into more depth)-- and are typically collected using a drag net or while in their larval stage. 

I once heard a funny story about a Gallinipper larvae. A biologist had just collected about ten mosquito larvae from the field. This biologist was going to rear these larvae to then identify the sample once fully matured. He set up the larvae in a rearing chamber and went home for the weekend. When he returned to the lab the following Monday, he had come to find that all but one mosquito larvae was left. The rest had disappeared without a trace. As it turns out, the lone mosquito larvae left was that of a Gallinipper. 

Can you guess what happened? The reason for why there was only one larvae left is quite simple. While in the larval stage of their life cycle, the gallinipper is in fact a cannibal. A gallinipper larvae will feed on other mosquito larvae as it matures into a pupae and full grown mosquito. 

So, finding this mosquito was pretty cool because it really is such a unique insect. I'd like to hope finding this mosquito continues to be a challenge, because swarms of Gallinippers sounds like a nightmare!

Cheers!


Comments

  1. NEVBD summer 2024 internshipAugust 13, 2024 at 7:10 AM

    very cool! I knew that Toxorhynchites was cannibalistic, but had no idea there was another mosquito species whose larvae also ate their container-mates.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction Blog Post (6/2/2024)

 Hello everyone! Welcome to my summer blog where I will be documenting my summer internship experience at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, Environmental Surveillance Division. I am entering my senior year at the University of Vermont, and I'm majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology.  My first day is tomorrow, June 3rd, and I am very excited. I will be doing a variety of things, such as tick and mosquito collection from a multitude of sites throughout the entire state of Vermont. In the lab, I will spend time identifying these samples, rearing larvae for the lab's collection, and collaborating with the CDC in collecting Culiseta melanura blood meal samples. Additionally, I will work on a data analysis project throughout my internship period. Last summer I worked for a small mosquito control district doing similar work to the work I will be doing this coming summer. I enjoyed the work I did last year, especially time spent in the field. I am excited to fur
Read more

Week 1 Recap

 Hello again everyone,  This blog post is a little bit late as I have already finished my second week, but I'll still recap my first week! Week 1 was highlighted by lots of field work. I visited the lab briefly on Monday morning to pick up various supplies like my tick suit, Zooka, and sampling materials. Then, I headed out into the field and participated in my first ever tick drag. Tick dragging is the process of dragging a white piece of cloth over the top of grass, leaf litter, and fallen debris. We then collect the ticks that attach to the cloth (or ourselves), and these samples will be tested for any diseases. When tick dragging I don a white jumpsuit so I may easily identify ticks that may have attached to me.  On Tuesday, I headed out into the field again. This time I ventured north, up to the Champlain Islands of northeastern Vermont. This is my personal favorite part of Vermont, as it has incredible views of the mountains standing stoic above the lake. I followed a route t
Read more

Recap Blog of Weeks 2, 3 & 4

 Hello everyone!  Long time no see! I haven't posted a blog in a few weeks, so I will be recapping the major highlights of the second, third, and fourth weeks of my internship experience. I have settled into a nice routine, and I spend much of my time visiting various different sites in the field. Twice a week I visit regular mosquito collection sites for the Cs. melanura study. One of the sites, I mentioned in my previous blog post, is in the northeast part of Vermont and is almost in Canada. The second site is in central Vermont, in and around Middlebury. So, two out five days each week are devoted to collection from these specific sites.  In mid-June we wrapped up our tick dragging efforts until the beginning of the fall. The last tick site I visited was perhaps one of the most pristine and remote areas I have visited yet. We drove on dirt roads for nearly 40 minutes deep into central Vermont. Once we arrived, I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of this place. Nestled in the v
Read more