Bug FAQCulex erraticus
Culex erraticus · Order: Diptera · Family: Culicidae
Source: Wikipedia
Culex erraticus, the erratic mosquito, is a mosquito species in the family Culicidae. Females bite a wide range of hosts and can carry the virus that causes Eastern equine encephalitis. They lay egg rafts on aquatic plant leaves and spend the winter in gopher tortoise burrows in Central Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Culex erraticus is known as the erratic mosquito and belongs to the Culicidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Female mosquitoes are aggressive biters.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In Central Florida they overwinter from October through February in gopher tortoise burrows.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Female Culex erraticus bite birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles to obtain blood meals.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
They spend the winter months in gopher tortoise burrows in Central Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Overwintering occurs from October through February in Central Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 31 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee.
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
Do they bite people or pets?
Yes, female Culex erraticus are aggressive biters of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, including people.
Source: Wikipedia
Can they spread disease to humans?
They are frequently infected with Eastern equine encephalitis virus and may transmit it to people.
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/Culex_erraticus
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.