Photo taken by Jason Williams
Plate and some Information from Mosquitoes of North America by Stanley Carpenter and Walter LaCasse
Culiseta melanura
medium size mosquito
Proboscis: long, slender, dark-scaled, many times curved down toward ventral side
Palpi: short, dark.
Head: Occiput with narrow yellowish scales and dark erect forked scales dorsally, with a patch of broad whitish scales laterally. Tori brown, darker on inner surface.
Thorax: Integument of scutum dark brown to reddish-brown; scutum clothed with fine dark bronze-brown scales, paler on prescutellar space. Scutellum with narrow golden-brown scales and dark setae on the lobes. Pleura with patches of dingy-white scales. A few dark spiracular bristles present; postspiracular bristles absent.
Abdomen: Tergites dark brown to black-scaled, with bronze to purplish reflection, and with small yellowish-white basal patches laterally. faint narrow yellowish-white bands sometimes present on some segments. Venter with dingy-white or yellowish scales, usually blended with a few dark scales.
Legs: are entirely dark-scaled except for pale posterior surface of femora.
Wings: length 3.5 to 4.0 mm. points of origin of cross veins 3-4 and 4-5 on vein 4 separated by more than the length of either cross vein; cross veins without scales; longitudinal veins densely clothed with dark, broadened, ligulate scales. A tuft of dark setae arising from base of subcosta on under side of wing.
Bionomics: Larva found in crypts under Red Maple, Sypress and White Cedar trees; sometimes found in small permanent bodies of water created when tree is blown over. They overwinter as a larvae. Adults are attracted to light traps. The adult female prefers blood from birds. It is considered as the key species for Eastern Equine Encephalitis ( also West Nile virus ) ...It keeps the virus active in the bird population. Flight range ...1/2 to 1 mile normal range (may go up to 5 or 6 miles).