mosquito

—mosquitoey, adj.

/meuh skee"toh/, n., pl. mosquitoes, mosquitos.

1. any of numerous dipterous insects of the family Culicidae, the females of which suck the blood of animals and humans, some species transmitting certain diseases, as malaria and yellow fever.

2. (cap.) Mil. a twin-engined, two-seat British fighter and bomber of World War II, made largely of plywood and having a top speed of 380 mph (610 km/h).

[1575-85; < Sp, equiv. to mosc(a) fly ( < L musca) + -ito dim. suffix]

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Any of 2,500 dipteran species in the family Culicidae.

The females of most species require a blood meal to mature their eggs. Through bloodsucking, females of various species (genera Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex) transmit human diseases, including dengue fever, encephalitis, filariasis, malaria, yellow fever, and elephantiasis. The adult has a long proboscis, a slender, elongated body, and long, fragile legs. The males (and sometimes the females) feed on plant juices. The female's characteristic sound is made by the vibration of thin membranes on the thorax. The females lay their eggs on the surface of a body of usually stagnant water, and the eggs hatch into aquatic larvae (wrigglers). In the far north larvae pass the winter frozen into ice. The wrigglers are eaten by fishes and aquatic insects, the adults by birds and dragonflies. Control measures have included elimination of breeding sites, application of surface films of oil to clog the larvae's breathing tubes, and use of larvicides.

Mosquito (Theobaldia anulata)

N.A. Callow

EB Inc.

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▪ British aircraft

in full  De Havilland DH-98 Mosquito 

      British twin-engine, two-seat, mid-wing bomber aircraft that was adapted to become the prime night fighter of the Allies during World War II. The Mosquito had a frame of wood and a skin of plywood, and it was glued and screwed together in England, Canada, and Australia. The plane was designed in 1938 and entered service in 1941.

      As a night fighter, the Mosquito downed more than 600 Luftwaffe planes over Germany and as many V-1 missiles (buzz bombs) over England and the English Channel. As a bomber, it proved able to carry twice the bomb load for which it was designed. The Mosquito had a maximum speed in excess of 400 miles per hour (640 km/h) and a range of more than 1,500 miles (2,415 km) with a 4,000-pound (1,816-kilogram) bomb load. Its original armament included four .303-calibre machine guns and four 20-millimetre cannons, all firing through the nose. The airplane was produced in so many modifications for so many missions, however, that armament varied widely through the war and later, when it was used in the air forces of countries around the world. Including production in the three continents where it was made, there were 42 “marks,” or versions, of the 7,780 Mosquitos that were built. It served as a bomber, fighter, night fighter, high-altitude fighter, and photo-reconnaissance plane, and it was even used to fly a wartime airline connection over enemy territory between Britain and Sweden.

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