Category: Pest
Common Name: Culex mosquito
Scientific Name: Culex spp.
Pest Description:
Approximately 5-6 mm in length, brownish grey, lays eggs on surface of water which stick to one another as floating rafts.
Risk:
Mostly nuisance mosquitoes; some Culex spp. are transmitters of serious diseases like filariasis, encephalitis and various arboviral infections that has significant impact on human health.
Behaviour:
Culex mosquitoes are opportunistic feeders and feed on human as well as range of animals depending on availability. Adult mosquitoes have a typical resting posture wherein the fore and middle legs are at the level to the surface and the hind legs are lifted up.
Where to find them?
Culex usually breeds in polluted water masses of all types, e.g. cesspools, open drains, ditches, ponds, stagnant tributaries of rivers, septic tanks, gutters, etc. Adult mosquitoes rest on vegetation around dark places in houses/ buildings, storm water drains present on the road sides.
