Enormous mosquitoes known as gallinippers (or Psorophora ciliata) have been spotted in Florida, according to WKMG, a CBS affiliate. The insects are about 20 times larger than most common mosquitoes. The sighting comes after a warning by the University of Florida that there could be a bumper crop of these mosquitoes this summer.
Gallinippers can grow to the size a quarter and have painful stings, which can feel "like you're being stabbed," Anthony Pelaez of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry told Fox Orlando earlier this year. The huge insects are known to be aggressive and feed both day and night; most mosquitoes aren't active during the day.
The gallinippers depend on heavy rains and were nourished by last year's downpour from Tropical Storm Debby. Continued rainfall, like that from Tropical Storm Andrea, will likely cause a spike in all mosquitoes this summer, Kelly Deutsch, the director of Seminole County Mosquito Control, told WKMG.
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