ID#: 7956
Caption:
This 2005 photograph depicted a close-up, anterior view of a female Culex tarsalis mosquito, as it was about to begin feeding, after having landed on the skin of what would become its human host. Note the light-colored band wrapped around its dark-scaled proboscis, and though not noticeably apparent, if you look closely, the multiple, similarly light-colored bands wrapped around its distal appendages, i.e., the tibia and femur, of its forelegs and middle pair of legs, identifying this as C. tarsalis. The epidemiologic importance of C. tarsalis lies in its ability to spread Western equine encephalitis (WEE), St. Louis encephalitis (SLE), and California encephalitis, and at the time of this image creation, was the main vector of West Nile virus (WNV) in the western United States.
High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (9.1 MB)
Content Provider(s): CDC
Creation Date: 2005
Photo Credit: James Gathany
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Copyright Restrictions: Permission is not required for public domain images, however, these images are provided by CDC and are available for personal, professional, and educational use with appropriate attribution. Redistribution must credit CDC and, where known, the individual photographer, and identify the CDC website as the free source. For additional terms see Use of Agency Materials | Other | CDC