Huge Florida Mosquitoes Could Invade Florida this Summer, Experts Warn
Environmental officials in Florida are warning that a mosquito species, known as the Galinipper, may appear this summer after a series of extreme weather events disturbed the previously dormant larvae of the insects.
The mosquitoes are known for not only their size, but for their painful bite which can penetrate several layers of clothing.
The Galinipper bite "feels like you're being stabbed," Anthony Pelaez of the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa told Fox News. Palaez added that he suffered the painful bite while he worked in the Amazon.
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"It's about the size of a quarter … It's about 20 times bigger than the sort of typical, Florida mosquito that you find," Pelaez said. "And it's mean, and it goes after people, and it bites, and it hurts."
There have been few recorded instances of Galinipper encounters, but environmental officials in Florida are warning that this summer could see large increases of such cases.
The Galinipper mosquito is found in floodwater areas where females are able to lay eggs near pools of water that were created by an overflow of rainwater.
One unique aspect to the insect is that their eggs remain dormant for years and are only able to hatch when the water level rises and is able to cover the larvae. Experts predict that this could have occurred when the floodwaters rose due to Tropical Storm Debbie.
Experts state that people can protect themselves from the Galinippers by using mosquito repellant, especially in grassy and other wooded areas.
They also add that Galinippers tend to stay in grassy and wooded areas and are not thought to dwell in urban areas. While the presence of the insect may be a nuisance, experts detail that it is not an entirely bad thing given that the Galinipper feeds on the larvae of other species of mosquitoes. The Galinipper also does not carry the West Nile virus.
