Mosquitos are the members of the family Culicidae; these
insects have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres,
a slender body, and long legs. The females of most mosquito
species suck blood from other animals. Size varies but
is rarely greater than 15 mm (0.6 inches). Mosquitoes
weigh only about 2 to 2.5 mg (0.03 to 0.04 grains). They
can fly at about 1.5 to 2.5 km/h (0.9 to 1.6 mph). Mosquitoes
have been around for 170 million years. The family Culicidae
belongs to the order Diptera and contains about 2700 species
in about 35 genera including Anopheles, Culex, Psorophora,
Ochlerotatus, Aedes, Sabethes, Wyeomyia, Culiseta, and
Haemagoggus."Mosquito" is a Spanish or Portuguese
word meaning little fly, and its use dates back to about
1583.
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