Mozzie

Banded Mosquito (Culiseta annulata)

Somehow, I never expect mosquitoes at this time of year. And yet, here's one I found yesterday, resting on a leaf near our little "rubbish bin lid" pond at the foot of the garden. It's a Banded Mosquito (Culiseta annulata), so named for its very stripey legs and abdomen. Those spotted wings are also distinctive. And it's huge, for a mosquito, measuring about a centimetre (i.e. nealy half an inch) from face to tip of wings. This makes it Britain's largest mosquito. The long proboscis (sticking straight out the front) and slender palps (the two angled things sticking out next to the proboscis) identify it as a female. A male's palps would be extravagently feathery. This one is missing half of her legs; she should have six, like all insects. Banded Mosquitoes are mainly nocturnal, resting during the day. They overwinter as adults, hibernating somewhere protected. As with all mosquitoes, only the female sucks blood. She'll feed on a variety of hosts, including (unfortunately) humans. Males feed on nectar, pollinating flowers in the process. 

According to our Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe, Banded Mosquitoes occur in many habitats, though always close to water. Females lay their eggs in a wide variety of watery sites; these can range from fresh to brackish, and can be clean or polluted, shaded or sunlit. Larvae and adults are all present year-round. The government's Public Health website says they're common and widespread throughout the UK, though ours is only the fifth record for Norfolk in the national database.