Bug FAQBlack-tailed Mosquito
Culiseta melanura · Order: Diptera · Family: Culicidae
Also called: Cedar Swamp Mosquito
Adult black-tailed mosquitoes are dark brown with few markings. Female adults feed on bird blood and can pass eastern equine encephalitis virus between birds.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are dark brown and have only a few markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The insects are the typical size of adult mosquitoes, described simply as dark brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Females bite birds and can transmit eastern equine encephalitis virus among bird populations.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Infection with the virus shortens the lifespan of C. melanura.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Female Culiseta melanura obtain blood meals primarily from birds.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Other mosquito genera such as Aedes, Coquillettidia, and Culex can also spread the virus to mammals after feeding on infected birds.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 23 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Alabama, Wisconsin, Michigan, Rhode Island.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do black-tailed mosquitoes look like?
They are dark brown adults with only a few markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are black-tailed mosquitoes found?
They are mainly present in the eastern and central United States.
Source: Wikipedia
What do female black-tailed mosquitoes feed on?
They primarily take blood meals from birds.
Source: Wikipedia
Do black-tailed mosquitoes spread disease?
Females can transmit eastern equine encephalitis virus between birds.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Culicidae)
Asian Tiger MosquitoAedes albopictusCan spread germs or disease
House Mosquito ComplexCulex pipiensCan spread germs or disease
Yellow Fever MosquitoAedes aegyptiCan spread germs or disease
Inland Floodwater MosquitoAedes vexansCan spread germs or disease
Asian Bush MosquitoAedes japonicusCan bite
Southern House MosquitoCulex quinquefasciatusCan spread germs or diseaseSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culiseta_melanura
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.