Get the insect repellent ready. Scientists expect giant mosquitoes to hit Florida this summer.
The large mosquitoes, known as gallinippers, are believed to have blown in with the wind from Tropical Storm Debby last June.
According to Debby Cassill, an associate professor at USF St. Petersburg, gallinipper eggs can lay dormant for years until high waters force them to come to life. Scientists expect the eggs to hatch this summer.
A University of Florida study found that gallinippers are common to low-lying areas with damp soil and grassy overgrowth. Cassill said the mosquitoes lay their eggs along the water.
Gallinippers are known to weigh 20 times more than the average mosquito, with a wingspan of about 6.5 millimeters. With furry legs with black and white stripes, they have been called the “hairy-legged zebra” or “shaggy-legged gallinipper.”
Cassill predicts the mosquitoes will collect near the Florida panhandle, where there is plenty of salt and fresh water.
She defined the insects as “ambush predators” because of their vicious bite.
“They have a mouth part with teeth like a saw that can drill down into the skin tearing the flesh,” she said. “The pain comes when they let go.”
Cassill predicts gallinipper victims to cry out, “We’ve been stabbed!”
The quarter-sized bloodsuckers have an appetite both day and night and their bites can pierce through clothing. They allegedly got their name because they’re so big they can “nip a gallon of blood with a single bite.”
Gallinippers do not carry diseases, like malaria and West Nile, which many other mosquito species do. They also eat the larvae of smaller mosquitoes.
The gallinippers will likely be eliminated with annual insecticide spraying. To prevent them from lurking around, Cassill suggests getting rid of any stagnant water.
