Wanted: winter mosquitos and squashed ones are fine

Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands are looking into the ‘winter mosquito’ and people who are still being plagued by them are asked to send in specimens – even squashed ones.

The researchers want to find out if the Dutch winter mosquito, a ‘twin sister’ of the summer mosquito, also carries diseases and viruses which could be dangerous to humans, news agency ANP said on Friday.

Ordinary mosquitos (Culex pipiens pipiens) hibernate in winter but the Culex pipiens molestus remains active. These mosquitos now appear to be more common than earlier thought and can carry the West Nile virus, ANP said.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation