While in Brazil last fall I am sorry to report that I was bitten repeatedly by m

Question

While in Brazil last fall I am sorry to report that I was bitten repeatedly by mosquitoes, and I was surprised by how small the little blood suckers were. Actually, I was able to identify one to genus as she bit me, because her head was down and hind legs were in the air: Anopheles species bite “standing on their head”. Kind of important to know, because only Anopheles species transmit malaria. Anyway, reflecting on small mosquitoes makes me think about scaling. I once saw a terrible (so bad it was good) giant mosquito movie, so let’s talk big mosquitoes. What scaling issues would exist for a mosquito the size of a vulture?

Explanation / Answer

Scaling issues especially depends upon size and colour and place of birth

Biting midges are about 1.5 mm long

Phlebotomine sandflies are about 1.5–4 mm long.

Horseflies and deerflies tabanids are medium- to large-sized flies (6–25 mm long)

Tsetse flies occur only in tropical Africa. They are yellowish or dark brown, medium-sized flies, 6–15 mm in length

Stable flies are dark, medium-sized flies, 5–6 mm in length

Vectors                                       Diseases

Mosquitos

Anopheles                 Malaria, lymphatic filariasis

Culex                    Lymphatic filariasis, Japanese encephalitis

Aedes                       Yellow fever, dengue, dengue

Mansonia               Lymphatic filariasis

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