''Culex nigripalpus'' (Florida SLE mosquito) is a species of medium-sized, dark, blood-feeding

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

of the family

Culicidae Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...

Distribution

''Culex nigripalpus'' has been found to occur in the following countries: Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Venezuela, Virgin Islands. In the United States, it is found from Texas to North Carolina in warm, humid coastal habitats and in the Mississippi River basin as far north as Kentucky.

Ecology

''Culex nigripalpus'' larvae live in fresh water in semi-permanent or permanent marshes, ditches, retention ponds, and grassy pools, and females prefer to lay eggs in freshly flooded ditches.

Medical significance

''Culex nigripalpus'' is a principle disease vector in Florida – the primary

enzootic Enzootic is the non-human equivalent of endemic and means, in a broad sense, "belonging to" or "native to", "characteristic of", or "prevalent in" a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; native to an area or scope. It also has t ...

vector to wild birds and the primary

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

vector to humans of the

Saint Louis encephalitis Saint Louis encephalitis is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Saint Louis encephalitis virus. Saint Louis encephalitis virus is related to Japanese encephalitis virus and is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae''. This disease mainly affe ...

(SLE) virus. It has been experimentally demonstrated to be capable of transmitting

West Nile virus West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae'', from the genus ''Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The virus ...

(WNV). Its habit of feeding on both birds and humans gives it significant potential for transmission of

zoonotic A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...

infections from birds to humans. It is also a vector of transmission of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE),

dog heartworm ''Dirofilaria immitis'', also known as heartworm or dog heartworm, is a parasitic roundworm that is a type of filarial worm, a small thread-like worm, that causes dirofilariasis. It is spread from host to host through the bites of mosquitoes. ...

, and

Avian malaria Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera ''Plasmodium'' and '' Hemoproteus'' (phylum Apicomplexa, class Haemosporidia, family Plasmoiidae). The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vector i ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13854399 nigripalpus Insects described in 1901 Taxa named by Frederick Vincent Theobald Diptera of North America