Call them ‘monster’, call them ‘mega’ or call them friggin’ huge….either way these King Kong mosquitoes, known as gallinippers, have arrived in Central Florida.
Gallinippers, which are 20 times the size of a typical mosquito and pack a painful bite, and apparently feel like a (small) bird when they land on you have already invaded the Sunshine State to torment locals and tourists alike.
You know the irony is quite obvious… A blood sucker by any other name is still a blood sucker.
According to Orlando-based WKMG, the quarter-sized insects were first spotted in Seminole County late last week. The aggressive blood suckers “can bite right through your clothing and give you a good pinch, more painful than an ordinary mosquito bite,” University of Florida natural resources agent Ken Gioeli told West Palm Beach-based WPTV back in March.
University of Florida entomologists warned in March that psorophora ciliata — or gallinippers as they’re sometimes called — might appear this summer, weighing in at up to 20 times the size of a typical mosquito and even more aggressive. The catalyst? Heavy rains from Tropical Storms Debbie and Andrea, which probably hatched the monster mosquito eggs that can lay dormant for years. As the university quipped in March: “If mosquitos were motorcycles, this species would be a Harley Davidson — big, bold, American-made and likely to be abundant in Florida this summer.”
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