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Since the beginning of civilization, no member of the Animal Kingdom has had such a wide and devastating influence on man and his way of life as the mosquito. In addition to transmitting various severe diseases, mosquitoes also cause great annoyance and great economic loss. Nuisance mosquitoes affect the comfort and efficiency of man, cause weight loss and death of domestic animals and reduce egg and milk production. Valuable real estate and recreational areas have been rendered unusable by the invasion of swarms of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are insects that belong to the order of Diptera, which means they have two wings (di = two; -ptera = wing). One of the main differences to other Diptera (like flies and midges) is the presence of the needle-like beak called proboscis. It is located on the head and contains the mouth-parts, which are specialized for piercing and sucking to obtain food. Mosquitoes are best known for the biting habit of females, which must have a blood meal for the egg production. The beak of the male mosquitoes is dull and unable to penetrate the skin of humans or animals. Their main diet is fruit and plant juices.
There are about 2,500 different species of mosquitoes worldwide. The 4 dominant Genera are Aedes, Anopheles, Culex and Culiseta. The Aedes mosquitoes are also called the "floodwater mosquitoes", since they usually occur in areas that are subject to flooding. That includes irrigated pastures and orchards, riverbanks, dry lakes, and containers with fluctuating water levels. All the Anopheles mosquitoes are potential vectors for malaria and therefore called "malaria mosquito". The first mosquitoes to appear in the early spring are Culiseta or "winter mosquitoes". They are usually found from September through May. The most common genus is Culex. Their larvae occur in almost any water source but prefer foul water, including septic tanks, dairy ponds, industrial wastes, catch basins, street gutters, artificial containers, stagnant pools, and even cemetery vases. The "house mosquito" (Culex quinquefasciatus) and the "encephalitis mosquito" (Culex tarsalis) are the most common species in the Antelope Valley.
