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House Mosquito
Afrikaans name: Huis Muskiet
House Mosquito
Photo © Steven Herbert
Culex pipiens
Here is a little insect that most of us would just love to get rid of! It is the House Mosquito.
I don't know if you have ever stopped to notice but some have bushy antennae - these are the males.
The House Mosquito lays its eggs in still or stagnant water. When the eggs hatch the wrigglers emerge and these feed off micro-organisms in the water. In less than a week they go into the pupa stage followed by the adult form.
Although the House Mosquito doesn't carry malaria it may carry Wet Nile Virus of Encephalitis.