Culex is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
mosquitoMosquito is a common insect in the family Culicidae...
, and is important in that several species serve as vectors of important diseases, such as
West Nile virusWest Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the koji Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, and...
,
filariasisFilariasis is a parasitic and infectious tropical disease, that is caused by thread-like filarial nematode worms in the superfamily Filarioidea, also known as "filariae". There are 9 known filarial nematodes which use humans as the definitive host...
,
Japanese encephalitisJapanese encephalitis is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are reservoirs of the virus; transmission to humans may cause severe symptoms...
,
St. Louis encephalitisSt. Louis Encephalitis is a disease caused by the Culex mosquito borne St. Louis Encephalitis virus. St. Louis encephalitis virus is related to Japanese encephalitis virus and is a member of the Flaviviridae subgroup. This disease mainly affects the United States...
and
avian malariaAvian malaria is a parasitic disease affecting birds.-Etiology:Avian malaria is most notably caused by Plasmodium relictum, a protist that infects birds in tropical regions...
.
The adult mosquito can measure from 4–10
mmThe millimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the current SI base unit of length.Equal to 1000 micrometres.Equal to 1000000 nanometres....
(0.16–0.4
inAn inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
.), and morphologically has the three body parts common to
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s:
headIn anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth...
,
thoraxThe thorax is a division of an animal's body that lies between the head and the abdomen.In mammals, the thorax is the region of the body formed by the sternum, the thoracic vertebrae and the ribs. It extends from the neck to the diaphragm, and does not include the upper limbs. The heart and the...
, and
abdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. As a fly, it has one pair of wings.
Carl Linnaeus used the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
term for
midge or
gnat,
culex, as the name of this
taxon|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement. Defining what belongs or does not belong to such a...
.
The developmental cycle takes two weeks and is by complete
metamorphosisMetamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
.
Culex is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
mosquitoMosquito is a common insect in the family Culicidae...
, and is important in that several species serve as vectors of important diseases, such as
West Nile virusWest Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the koji Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, and...
,
filariasisFilariasis is a parasitic and infectious tropical disease, that is caused by thread-like filarial nematode worms in the superfamily Filarioidea, also known as "filariae". There are 9 known filarial nematodes which use humans as the definitive host...
,
Japanese encephalitisJapanese encephalitis is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are reservoirs of the virus; transmission to humans may cause severe symptoms...
,
St. Louis encephalitisSt. Louis Encephalitis is a disease caused by the Culex mosquito borne St. Louis Encephalitis virus. St. Louis encephalitis virus is related to Japanese encephalitis virus and is a member of the Flaviviridae subgroup. This disease mainly affects the United States...
and
avian malariaAvian malaria is a parasitic disease affecting birds.-Etiology:Avian malaria is most notably caused by Plasmodium relictum, a protist that infects birds in tropical regions...
.
The adult mosquito can measure from 4–10
mmThe millimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the current SI base unit of length.Equal to 1000 micrometres.Equal to 1000000 nanometres....
(0.16–0.4
inAn inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
.), and morphologically has the three body parts common to
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s:
headIn anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth...
,
thoraxThe thorax is a division of an animal's body that lies between the head and the abdomen.In mammals, the thorax is the region of the body formed by the sternum, the thoracic vertebrae and the ribs. It extends from the neck to the diaphragm, and does not include the upper limbs. The heart and the...
, and
abdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. As a fly, it has one pair of wings.
Etymology
Carl Linnaeus used the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
term for
midge or
gnat,
culex, as the name of this
taxon|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement. Defining what belongs or does not belong to such a...
.
Life cycle
The developmental cycle takes two weeks and is by complete
metamorphosisMetamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
.
EggsIn most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
are laid singularly or in batches, depending on the species. Eggs will only hatch in the presence of water. During the
larvaA larva is a young form of animal with indirect development, going through or undergoing metamorphosis ....
l stage the mosquito lives in water and feeds on organic matter and plants, then develops into a
pupaA pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
. The pupa is comma-shaped and also lives in water. It does not feed and becomes an adult after one or two days.
Diversity
There are a large number of
Culex species. In
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
alone, 88 species were described by 1955.
Subgenera
- Acalleomyia
- Acallyntrum
- Aedinus
- Afroculex
- Allimanta
- Anoedioporpa
- Barraudius
- Belkinomyia
- Carrollia
- Culex
- Culiciomyia
- Eumelanomyia
- Kitzmilleria
- Lasiosiphon
- Lophoceraomyia
- Maillotia
- Melanoconion
- Micraedes
- Microculex
- Neoculex
- Oculeomyia
- Phenacomyia
- Sirivanakarnius
- Tinolestes
External links
- Systematic Catalog of the Culicidae: List of Culex species
- VectorBase homepage for Culex pipiens (genome browser, downloads and more)
- Culex (Culex) nigripalpus Theobald on the UF
The University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
/ IFASThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures Web site
- Culex quinquefasciatus Say, southern house mosquito on the UF
The University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
/ IFASThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures Web site
- Culex pipiens at MetaPathogen: facts, life cycle
- Mosquito Chapter in the National Public Health Pesticide Applicator Training Manual