← Back to Directory
πŸͺ° Flies

Western Encephalitis Mosquito

Culex tarsalis

About

A medium-sized mosquito with a distinctive white band on the proboscis and banded legs. It is the most important vector of Western equine encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis in western North America. It breeds in a wide variety of sunlit and shaded water sources.

πŸ’‘

Did You Know?

Its feeding behavior shifts seasonally from birds in spring to mammals in late summer, which drives encephalitis virus spillover to humans.