# mosquito on steroids?



## ilovebugs (Jul 12, 2005)

I just came in from my girlfriends house alittle while ago, and found a giant mosquito on the side of my house. it was attracted to the light I suppose.

Before anyone asks, this is not a crane fly, I have been around those all my life and this is not one.
this seems to be a mosquito that drank the blood of Rambo or Gov. Swartzenager(sp) or just some other body builder on 'roids.

it's shaped just like your avg. mosq. only he's... built. bigger body, legs. he's kinda black or she I guess (isn't it the females that don't have fuzzy antenne?)

I live in North Alabama if that helps anyone, and if you need me to, I can take a pic. I've got it in a test tube so it's not going anywere unless it spits acid or something ;-)

thanks for any identification ideas.


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## packer43064 (Jul 12, 2005)

Yeah take some pics of it.


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## G. Carnell (Jul 12, 2005)

Hi
i did some work experience thing on Mosquito larvae, and there are lots of variations in size, one genus i remember was called Culex, quite large ones

there was another species they kept which was large and the woman who had to sacrifice her arm feeding them said "you can really feel it"


good luck getting pics


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## Ron_K (Jul 12, 2005)

Most likey what you are seeing is a crane fly, which looks like a mosquito but is about 10-15 times as large.


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## spydrhunter1 (Jul 12, 2005)

What about the genus Toxorhynchites ? They are really large mosquitoes. Interesting group because neither males of females blood feed.. The probosis is shaped like a sheperds hook.


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## Code Monkey (Jul 12, 2005)

Mostly likely a crane fly, family tipulidae, as someone else mentioned. Body plan is identical to a mosquito but it's much, much larger.


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## Fluid Filter (Jul 12, 2005)

ilovebugs said:
			
		

> Before anyone asks, this is not a crane fly, I have been around those all my life and this is not one.


It's gotta be a crane fly   
Pic?


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## ilovebugs (Jul 12, 2005)

this is a bad shot, but it shows that odd shaped thorax that mosquitos have.













ok. and here's a pic of a crane fly for those that don't know.


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## Galapoheros (Jul 12, 2005)

ilovebugs said:
			
		

> this is a bad shot, but it shows that odd shaped thorax that mosquitos have.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I found two of those in my house a month or two ago.  I could here it flying around 10 feet away in my bathroom.  I was impressed with them too and took several pictures.  None came out very good but here's one of them.  This may not be the same species as the one you found.  This one has iridescent blue on parts of the body.  Interesting for a mosquito.


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## DavidRS (Jul 12, 2005)

That looks like some type of assassin bug to me (the one in the test tube).


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## misfitsfiend (Jul 12, 2005)

I believe its a mosquito for one reason

 one day after watching my dogs outside at night, i came in and felt an itch on my back. and then .... the beast flew out of my shirt! it was huge! and it had just sucked a pint of my blood(exhadgeration). so then, i wasnt going to let it get away that easy .... I fed it to one of the black widows i had just received.

 It was at least the size of a nickle.


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## ilovebugs (Jul 13, 2005)

misfitsfiend said:
			
		

> I believe its a mosquito for one reason
> 
> one day after watching my dogs outside at night, i came in and felt an itch on my back. and then .... the beast flew out of my shirt! it was huge! and it had just sucked a pint of my blood(exhadgeration). so then, i wasnt going to let it get away that easy .... I fed it to one of the black widows i had just received.
> 
> It was at least the size of a nickle.


thats kinda cool. so your widow kinda... drank your blood huh? 
my mom flips out whenever she finds that I've been keeping a widow or brown recluse...


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## Wade (Jul 13, 2005)

It might be the Asian tiger mosquito,  Aedes albopictus, a relitively recent import (they are thought to have arrived in the US inside some old tires that were on a ship through a port in Texas). They now occur throughout the southeast.

Wade


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## ilovebugs (Jul 13, 2005)

Wade said:
			
		

> It might be the Asian tiger mosquito,  Aedes albopictus, a relitively recent import (they are thought to have arrived in the US inside some old tires that were on a ship through a port in Texas). They now occur throughout the southeast.
> 
> Wade


http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Animals/mosquitoes/Aedes_albopictus.html

different common name. but I don't think thats it. that one has alot of white spots.

I think he's about to die. He prolly needs a pint of blood per night... freakin vampire. 
I'll take more pics if I can get any better.


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## scavenger (Jul 13, 2005)

It's in the genus Toxorhynchites i believe... they get big... bigger than that... the larvae feed on other Mosquito larvae.


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## ilovebugs (Jul 14, 2005)

scavenger said:
			
		

> It's in the genus Toxorhynchites i believe... they get big... bigger than that... the larvae feed on other Mosquito larvae.


I think you are closest.

I googled that and so far this is the closest thing I've seen.


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