Gallinipper (Psorophora ciliata)

Gallinipper/Galinipper Mosquito (Psorophora ciliata) male

The Gallinipper is a huge, slow-flying mosquito. Wing length is up to 6.5 mm. Males, which do not bite, are sometimes attracted to lights at night. They are relatively infrequent.

Males have incredible bottlebrush-like feathery antennae.

Male - Durham, NC 9/9/08.

Gallinipper/Galinipper Mosquito (Psorophora ciliata) male

Other common names include Galinipper (variant spelling), Shaggy-legged Gallinipper, and Feather-legged Gallinipper Mosquito

Male - Durham, NC 6/15/2009.

Gallinipper/Galinipper Mosquito (Psorophora ciliata) female

Females, however, do bite! And the bite is said to be painful. This is the largest biting mosquito in the US.

They're not all bad, though: the larvae are active predators and feed on other mosquito larvae and other aquatic invertebrates, they're never around in large numbers, and they're really cool looking!

Female - Chatham Co., NC 9/20/08.

More information:

A mosquito Psorophora ciliata (Fabricius) (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae) by Ephraim Ragasa and Phillip Kaufman, Florida Cooperative Extension Service/University of Florida

Psorophora ciliata - Gallinipper from Bugguide.net

Mega mosquito could invade Florida this summer - a silly TV news story from Fox 35 in Orlando that started a flurry of other scare stories

North Carolina Flies
