North American Malaria Mosquito

Anopheles quadrimaculatus

Anopheles quadrimaculatus is a mosquito in the family Culicidae. It is a vector of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agents of malaria in North America.
Common Malaria Mosquito - Anopheles quadrimaculatus Anopheline adults rest with their abdomens positioned at a discrete angle to the surface, whereas other genera keep their bodies parallel to the surface, which makes them easy to identify to genus level. However, this mosquito was NOT resting in typical Anopheline fashion. I'm guessing that it might have something to do with all of the red mites on her abdomen - they must be very heavy for a small mosquito to carry! Anophelines have long palps approximately equal in length to the proboscis. An. quadrimaculatus are very dark mosquitoes covered in dark hairs, and a key feature are the dark patches of scales forming four spots on the wings, which you can't see in this photo (I checked for them though). Anopheles quadrimaculatus is historically the most important vector of malaria in the eastern United States. Malaria was a serious plague in the United States for centuries until its final eradication in the 1950s. Despite the eradication, there are still occasional cases of autochthonous transmission in the U.S. vectored by Anopheles quadrimaculatus. Habitat: Attracted to a light at night in a rural area. Anopheles,Anopheles quadrimaculatus,Geotagged,North American Malaria Mosquito,Summer,United States,common malaria mosquito,mosquito

Appearance

Adult Female:
- Proboscis dark scaled
- Scutum is brown with fine yellowish setae
- Abdominal terga are tan to dark brown
- Apices of femur and tibia are pale
- Four distinct dark spots on the wings

Larva:
- Siphon absent
- Head hairs 8 and 9 are usually with 8 to 10 branches
- Lateral setae on the 4th, 5th, and 6th segments are not plumose

Naming

Common names: The "Quads" or Common Malaria Mosquito

Name Explanation: Called An. quadrimaculatus because of the four (quad) dark spots of scales on each wing.

Distribution

Eastern North America (TX-FL-ME-SD / ON-QC / Mexico)

Behavior

This species is the primary vector of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, the causitve agents of malaria in North America. West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis have also been isolated from it. Transmission of St. Louis Encephalitis has been obtained with this species in laboratory experiments, and An. quadrimaculatus has also been found to be an excellent host for Dirofilaria immitis, the causitive agent of dog heartworm disease.

Habitat

Larvae can be found in marshes, ponds, and margins of shallow streams.

Reproduction

Adult females overwinter in abandoned buildings, caves, hollow trees or animal burrows. Multivoltine (multiple generations per year).

Food

Females prefer mammals for blood meals.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/36481
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderDiptera
FamilyCulicidae
GenusAnopheles
SpeciesAnopheles quadrimaculatus
Photographed in
United States of America