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Nature & Environment

'World's largest mosquito' discovered in China

By T.K. Randall
April 25, 2018 · Comment icon 23 comments

The insect is genuinely huge, but is it actually a mosquito ? Image Credit: YouTube / New China TV
A Chinese entomologist found the insect, which has a wingspan of 11.5cm, during a field trip last year.
The enormous specimen reportedly belongs to the species Holorusia mikado and was found during a field trip to Mount Qingcheng in Chengdu, the captial of China's Sichuan province.

These huge insects typically grow to around 8cm, making this one particularly gigantic.

"These mosquitoes look horrendous, but do not feed on blood," said Zhao Li, curator of the Insect Museum of West China. "The adults have a lifespan of only a few days and mainly feed on nectar."
"There are tens of thousands of types of mosquitoes in the world. Barely 100 species feed on blood and may be a problem for humans."

"They are weak fliers because of their big bodies. When they fly, it is more like hopping. More often than not, they are found in areas with dense vegetation."

But is the insect actually a mosquito ? According to reports, there may be some confusion over whether this is a mosquito or a crane fly due to the way these species are categorized in China.

Either way, there's no denying that this particular specimen is truly gigantic.



Source: Straits Times | Comments (23)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #14 Posted by Iilaa'mpuul'xem 7 years ago
Also mention the Scottish Midge to God also please..... Oh and Politicians.. 
Comment icon #15 Posted by Iilaa'mpuul'xem 7 years ago
We still have them, just has many has ever...I am UK based, a mile from Howarth... Bronte Country..I am forever catching and releasing them from the house, they freak my daughter out. 
Comment icon #16 Posted by Susanc241 7 years ago
Please keep them up there (beautiful place by the way, used to live in Yorkshire and visited many times) as they freak me out also.  Spiders are bad enough with their long spindly legs (it’s the legs that get to me) and a FLYING bunch of spindly legs is just eeeeek, .
Comment icon #17 Posted by Mr.United_Nations 7 years ago
Saw a baby crane fly few days ago
Comment icon #18 Posted by Sundew 7 years ago
Doesn't work that way, a baby would be a maggot that lives in leaf litter. You just saw a small species of adult Crane Fly. We have the large and the small where I live, I think the larva can be an agricultural pest that damages roots of plants, but the adults are harmless. My father used to try and tell us they were giant mosquitos when we were kids. 
Comment icon #19 Posted by paperdyer 7 years ago
So we don't have to worry about a SyFy movie  GIANTMOSQUITNADO? Then GIANTMOSQUITNADO II - The Blood Suckers are back!
Comment icon #20 Posted by Herr Falukorv 7 years ago
Jag har faktiskt aldrig hört någon kalla dom långbenta myggor eller långbentingar. Men däremot att folk kallar dom "pappa långben" fastän det egentligen är smeknamnet för lockespindeln. I have actually never heard anyone call them "long-legged mosquitoes" or "longlegs" However some call them daddy longlegs even though that is the nickname for the harvestman.
Comment icon #21 Posted by internetperson 7 years ago
Mosquitoes are my only real qualm with living in FL. So annoying when you're trying to sleep and you can hear the high pitch noise they make while flying.  Odd how some people attract them more than others. 
Comment icon #22 Posted by fred_mc 7 years ago
Ok. Interesting. Maybe there are regional differences in what they are called. I'm not familiar with the name "pappa långben".
Comment icon #23 Posted by Herr Falukorv 7 years ago
Ok here in Göteborg most people call them "Pappa långben"


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