The Biggest Mosquito I Have Ever Seen...

[russ_watters]

I was setting up my telescope and I'm usually pretty good about keeping the door closed, but when I came back inside I thought I had a hummingbird in my den. Here's a picture of him taken shortly after his untimely death....

He was more impressive alive, with the big leg span, but unfortunately, those photos didn't come out.

[drankin]

I'm no expert but I believe that is a male mosquito which are always much larger but harmless. I don't believe they bite. It's the smaller female mosquitos that draw blood to lay eggs. This is from my experience in Alaska, where the mosquito is considered the state bird.

[Ki Man]

thats one heck of a skeeter

[omega_M]

i've killed a couple like these in my apt. nasty creatures. usually come into the house if the door is left open, especially in summer.

[Pythagorean]

not completely sure, but if it looked like this alive:
http://fixedreference.org/2006-Wikipedia-CD-Selection/images/70/7028.jpg

Then you just killed a mosquito eater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_eater)!

I don't know... but that doesn't look like any mosquito I see in Alaska, could be a different kind.

[russ_watters]

No, that's not it. The wings were flat against the tail. Not a great photo, but here's the Before...

[russ_watters]

Looking around on the net, it looks similar to these species of flies, at the bottom of the page: http://www.arbovirus.health.nsw.gov.au/areas/arbovirus/mosquit/photos/mosquitophotos.htm

[Cyrus]

We get big ones like that here.

[Pythagorean]

Looking around on the net, it looks similar to these species of flies, at the bottom of the page: http://www.arbovirus.health.nsw.gov.au/areas/arbovirus/mosquit/photos/mosquitophotos.htm

the one at the top of the list there is what I posted: the crane fly.

Here's an Alaskan mosquito (much shorter tail/abdomen thingy)

http://www.homestead.com/ipmofalaska/files/janninesculisetainornatafemale.gif

But yeah, I can see in the live pic of your insect... I don't remember crane flies ever holding that pose.

[Danger]

I was thinking along the same line as Pythagorean. We have what are called 'mosquito hawks', which look very much like huge mosquitos but in fact prey upon them.

[TuviaDaCat]

im pretty sure that its a male mosquito , they are much bigger than the female, and they dont bite, still, they are dead-worthy.

[russ_watters]

Looking around, I have a few trapped behind a window that look almost identical except that they are 1/4 the size, so I think you're right about this one being a male.

[Ivan Seeking]

Here's an Alaskan mosquito (much shorter tail/abdomen thingy)

http://www.homestead.com/ipmofalaska/files/janninesculisetainornatafemale.gif

They get them like that in Florida around the Everglades. I remember it being over 100 degrees and raining, and mosquitos so big that if you swat them, it just ticks them off. :biggrin:

[mathwonk]

If you did not need a baseball bat to kill it do not bother entering it in any competition here in atlanta.

[Moridin]

I have a paralyzing fear of all insects *shrugs*.