The Mosquitoes occur worldwide in temperate or tropical areas. Not all Culicidae species are blood sucking and even the species that do feed on blood are usually closely associated with a specific mammal, bird, frog, reptile or even fish or insect species. Males can be identified by their bushy antenna. Males and non-blood sucking female species all feed on plant produced liquids such as nectars and fruit juices or saps. Some females require a feed of blood for the eggs to finalise their development.
Mating occurs in the air and eggs are laid on the surface of the water body. The larvae can survive in a broad spectrum of still water bodies, ranging from temporary or permanent ground pools to water trapped in tree hollows, leaf axils or human rubbish containing water. Some species can even survive salty rock pools. Most larvae feed on suspended particles or small organisms in the water, but some species actively predate other mosquito species.
Subfamily Anophelinae
Genus Anopheles
Subfamily Culicinae
Genus Aedes
References
CSIRO, 1990. Insects of Australia, Volume 2: A Textbook for Students and Research Workers. 2nd Edition. Melbourne University Publishing.
Dobrotworsky, N. V. 1965. The Mosquitoes of Victoria (Diptera, Culicidae). Melbourne University Press.
Dobrotworsky, N. V. 1966. Mosquitoes of Tasmania and Bass Strait Islands. Proceedings of the LInnean Society of New South Wales 91: 121-145.
Doggett, S. L. 1999 and updates. The New South Wales Arbovirus Surveillance & Mosquito Monitoring Program. NSW Health. Last accessed 30 October 2012. Available at: http://medent.usyd.edu.au/arbovirus/index.html
Harbach, R. E., 2007. The Culicidae (Diptera): a review of taxonomy, classification and phylogeny. Zootaxa 1668: 591-638.