Culex-pipiens-complex
Guides
Culex pipiens
common house mosquito, northern house mosquito
Culex pipiens is a globally distributed mosquito species native to Africa, Asia, and Europe, now found in temperate regions worldwide except Antarctica. It is the type species for the genus Culex and one of the most common mosquitoes in human habitats in the northern hemisphere. The species includes two morphologically indistinguishable but ecologically distinct forms: C. p. form pipiens, which lives above ground and feeds primarily on birds, and C. p. form molestus, which lives underground and bites mammals including humans. Hybrids between these forms exhibit intermediate feeding behavior and are implicated as bridge vectors for West Nile virus transmission from birds to humans.