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This is scary, from googling the name, it appears they are emerging in a bunch of places this summer.
Stevo
MINEOLA, TX (KLTV) -
People say everything's bigger in Texas, but sometimes that's not such a great thing.
"I have no idea what it is, but it sure resembles a mosquito," said Mitchell White, the man who owns the home where the giant mosquito was found.
It's a large mosquito that their mother, Thelma McQueen, found in their home.
"I thought it was a yellow jacket and I'm allergic to the things so I stepped on it and it didn't kill it that time and so I stepped on it again and it still didn't kill it," McQueen said.
White said they live in a heavy wooded area and see lots of bugs and mosquitos, but none this big.
"We've seen a lot of different insects and different things living here in the river bottom," White said. "Usually there's a lot of mosquitos but this one right here, it takes the cake for sure."
We set the mosquito on a tape measure and it was easily an inch wide and an inch long.
Dr. Srini Kambhampati with the UT Tyler Biology Department has studied insects for 35 years.
He says he has never seen a mosquito this large.
"This is perhaps the largest mosquito that is out there that actually bites other humans and other warm blooded animals," said Dr. Kambhampati.
Without bringing into the lab, he believes that this monster of a mosquito is a gallinipper.
"The scientific name is psorophora, some people call it gallinipper but it is a large mosquito that is native to North America," said Dr. Kambhampati.
The insects are mostly present in the eastern United States, but have been seen in Texas before.
These mosquitos for the most part are harmless.
"To the best of my knowledge they don't spread any disease but if they're present in large numbers they can be very painful because they are so large that they tend to cause more pain than your normal mosquito," said Dr. Kambhampati.
Dr. Kambhampati says insect repellent with 20% to 30% deet will keep these mosquitos away.
The mosquito has been left in the hands of Dr. Kambhampati at the UT Tyler Biology Department for further research.
People say everything's bigger in Texas, but sometimes that's not such a great thing.
"I have no idea what it is, but it sure resembles a mosquito," said Mitchell White, the man who owns the home where the giant mosquito was found.
It's a large mosquito that their mother, Thelma McQueen, found in their home.
"I thought it was a yellow jacket and I'm allergic to the things so I stepped on it and it didn't kill it that time and so I stepped on it again and it still didn't kill it," McQueen said.
White said they live in a heavy wooded area and see lots of bugs and mosquitos, but none this big.
"We've seen a lot of different insects and different things living here in the river bottom," White said. "Usually there's a lot of mosquitos but this one right here, it takes the cake for sure."
We set the mosquito on a tape measure and it was easily an inch wide and an inch long.
Dr. Srini Kambhampati with the UT Tyler Biology Department has studied insects for 35 years.
He says he has never seen a mosquito this large.
"This is perhaps the largest mosquito that is out there that actually bites other humans and other warm blooded animals," said Dr. Kambhampati.
Without bringing into the lab, he believes that this monster of a mosquito is a gallinipper.
"The scientific name is psorophora, some people call it gallinipper but it is a large mosquito that is native to North America," said Dr. Kambhampati.
The insects are mostly present in the eastern United States, but have been seen in Texas before.
These mosquitos for the most part are harmless.
"To the best of my knowledge they don't spread any disease but if they're present in large numbers they can be very painful because they are so large that they tend to cause more pain than your normal mosquito," said Dr. Kambhampati.
Dr. Kambhampati says insect repellent with 20% to 30% deet will keep these mosquitos away.
The mosquito has been left in the hands of Dr. Kambhampati at the UT Tyler Biology Department for further research.
Stevo
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