Bug FAQHoward's Gallinipper
Psorophora howardii · Order: Diptera · Family: Culicidae
Source: Wikipedia
Howard's Gallinipper is a large mosquito about 8 to 10 mm long with a wing length of roughly 6 mm. Females bite persistently at any time of day and can transmit West Nile virus.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings have narrow dark-brown scales; the head is covered with broad gray-white scales except for a narrow bare stripe; the thorax is dark brown to black; the abdomen shows a wide white-scaled median patch; legs are dark yellow and purple.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 8 to 10 mm in length with wings about 6.0 to 6.5 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Adult females bite persistently at any time of day and can transmit West Nile virus.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae are present from March through October, and eggs hatch when rain or irrigation fills their habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Larval activity occurs from March to October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
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- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psorophora_howardii
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.