Monster Mosquitoes Set to Invade Florida This Summer

Florida has been having quite the year, first with the invasion of Burmese pythons, over a thousand sharks flocking to its shores and now scientists are warning residents to brace themselves for the descent of monster mosquitoes this summer.

Entomologist Phil Kaufman, associate professor with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said these mosquitoes are called gallinippers and are the size of a quarter, which is 20 times the size of a typical mosquito.

Gallinippers are "mean, and it goes after people, and it bites, and it hurts," says Anthony Pelaez of Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry. A gallinipper bite "feels like you're being stabbed." He also urged people to wear long-sleeve pants and shirts.

But, he told the Gainsville Sun, "Just doing that may not be enough for this type of mosquito; you're going to have use one of the insect repellents to dissuade them from landing."

Gallinipper eggs hatch after a rainstorm or flood, and the state saw a big jump in the numbers of gallinippers last summer after Tropical Storm Debby dumped its load on Florida. Eggs laid last year could produce a bumper crop of the blood-sucking bugs this summer if Florida sees a soggy rainy season.

"I wouldn't be surprised, given the numbers we saw last year," said entomologist Phil Kaufman of the University of Florida in a statement. "When we hit the rainy cycle, we may see that again."