Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti

Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti

Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti is a mosquito in the family Culicidae. They do not take bloodmeals and, as a result, are not considered to be harmful to human health.
Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti male Toxorhynchites are called elephant mosquitoes because they are huge ! Also they do not take any bloodmeal. This one was spotted in the gabonese forest in La Lopé national park. Note the downward curved proboscis which is an amazing feature in this mosquito genus morphology. Toxorhynchites are basically forest mosquitoes. The larval habitats are mainly tree holes and bamboo, but a few species are found in leaf axils, pitcher plants, rock pools and artificial containers. The larvae of all species are predacious. They feed mainly on the larvae of other mosquito species, but exhibit cannibalism or feed on detritus in the absence of suitable prey. Males and females both feed exclusively on nectar and other sugary substances. The adults are active during the day. Species of Toxorhynchites are largely confined to tropical regions. A few species occur in the eastern fringes of Asia and North America. Three apparently introduced species are found in Fiji and Samoa in the South Pacific, but species of the genus are otherwise absent from all oceanic islands, including New Zealand. Species of subgenus Toxorhynchites occur only in the Old World, those of subgenus Afrorhynchus occur in Africa, and species of subgenera Ankylorhynchus and Lynchiella are confined to the New World. Culicidae,Diptera,Fall,Gabon,Geotagged,Mosquito,Toxorhynchites,Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti

Naming

They are commonly referred to as ‘elephant mosquitoes’, partly due to their size but also because of their trunk-like proboscis, which is large and curves downward to a point to aid consuming nectar.

Behavior

As a natural predator of vector species, Toxorhynchites larvae could potentially be used as biological control agents.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7693308/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxorhynchites
https://www.gbif.org/species/1649089
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderDiptera
FamilyCulicidae
GenusToxorhynchites
SpeciesToxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti
Photographed in
Gabon