Giant mosquitoes emerge in North Carolina post-Florence

[AirPo]

Oh joy.

These giants have zebra-striped legs and are two to three times as big as the normal bloodsuckers encountered during summer, said Michael H. Reiskind, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at North Carolina State University. "Definitely noticeably bigger," he said. "If you see mosquitoes often, then you're going to say, 'Wow, that's a big mosquito.' "

Full story here -->

 

[USincognito]

Invasive species.

 

[AirPo]

Invasive species.

No, there are native, I think. Just the conditions are ripe for a population explosion.

 

[USincognito]

No, there are native, I think. Just the conditions are ripe for a population explosion.

Really?

 

[Desk trauma]

Reporting live from NC, yes they are huge and numerous. With another major rain event coming with the next storm they are going to be awful until first frost.

 

[Ken Rank]

Reporting live from NC, yes they are huge and numerous. With another major rain event coming with the next storm they are going to be awful until first frost.

Pictures? I am not being funny... how big is big? Coming from NJ where we petitioned to make them the state bird... I am well acquainted with those nasties!

 

[Desk trauma]

Pictures? I am not being funny... how big is big? Coming from NJ where we petitioned to make them the state bird... I am well acquainted with those nasties!

I have not taken any measurements but just looking at them they are at least double their normal size which are not small to begin with. They remind me of the ones I encountered on the gulf coast capable of biting through a thick work shirt.

 

[HTacianas]

Oh joy.



Full story here -->

I'm so disappointed. When I read the title I was hoping for Godzilla-sized monsters carrying full grown adults away to feed to their young.

Guess I'll just have to go back to waiting for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[super animator]

@AirPoe Better buy frogs for them.

 

[Tanj]

I'd be more worried about the follow up wave of Culex spp which carry various human flavi- and alpha- virus caused diseases.

 

[Desk trauma]

I'd be more worried about the follow up wave of Culex spp which carry various human flavi- and alpha- virus caused diseases.

Hopefully the season will be over soon with lower temperatures supposed to be on the way after this storm rolls past.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Really?

There are lots of different species of mosquitoes in the USA. The real question is what was God thinking in creating any of them?

 

[USincognito]

There are lots of different species of mosquitoes in the USA. The real question is what was God thinking in creating any of them?

To help us win the Revolutionary War.
How the Lowly Mosquito Helped America Win Independence | Science | Smithsonian

 

[Tanj]

To help us win the Revolutionary War.
How the Lowly Mosquito Helped America Win Independence | Science | Smithsonian

Right, God made mosquitoes to help Americans.

Excellent.

 

[USincognito]

Right, God made mosquitoes to help Americans.

Excellent.

Prove me wrong.

 

[Desk trauma]

Right, God made mosquitoes to help Americans.

Excellent.

The millions of deaths are worth it because 'MURICA!

 

[Tanj]

Prove me wrong.

Well, it was the diseases the mosquitoes carried that won the war, so strictly speaking you should be thanking God making diseases, not mosquitoes.

 

[USincognito]

Well, it was the diseases the mosquitoes carried that won the war, so strictly speaking you should be thanking God making diseases, not mosquitoes.

Malaria and Yellow Feaver can't spread themselves