Might want to rethink your Mosquito analogy
ST. PETERSBURG --
If you thought mosquito season in the Sunshine State was bad before, there’s a new breed of bug that’s threatening to make it worse than ever.
Whether people are on a downtown stroll, eating lunch outside, or playing golf, this summer there is a new friend for them to look out for.
The state considered by many to have the most bugs is about to get a new tenant.
A mosquito 20 times the size of the one people are used to, that feeds day and night, and has a bite some people say feels like a poke from a knife.
“We’re used to the little tiny ones that go to the back of your knees, and this one’s right in your face, it’s aggressive, it’s got a nasty bite,” said Deby Cassill, USF St. Petersburg .
Deby Cassill is a biologist at USF St. Petersburg, and she said the Gallinipper mosquito showed up in crecord numbers after Tropical Storm Debby.
Experts believe the insect will invade Florida during the summer rainy season.
“The thing’s like a Pterodactyl in the mosquito world, it’s huge, and for me exciting, for most a little scary,” said Cassill.
For folks like Tom Stephen, owner of BuzzOFF mosquito control, it means more work.
“There’s always a means to control mosquitos, this mosquito even though it’s aggressive we can still contain that mosquito with the products we have,” said Tom Stephen, BuzzOFF mosquito control.
Bad news is the mosquito targets humans, animals, even fish with a sting that can penetrate clothes.
There is some good news though considering it eats the larvae produced by the mosquito people are used to.
The Gallinipper mosquito does not carry West Nile Virus or Encephalitis.
Even though it’s been around since the Civil War, scientists still don’t know much about the big mosquitoes.
