Treehole-breeder
Guides
Toxorhynchites rutilus
Elephant Mosquito, Treehole Predatory Mosquito, Predatory Tree-hole Mosquito
Toxorhynchites rutilus, commonly called the elephant mosquito, is a large predatory mosquito species native to North America. Adults are distinctive for their iridescent blue-purple coloration, large size, and non-biting habit—they feed exclusively on nectar and serve as pollinators. The larvae are obligate predators that consume other mosquito larvae, making this species valuable for biological control of disease-vector mosquitoes. A single larva may eat up to 5,000 prey larvae before maturing. The species has been employed in biocontrol programs targeting container-breeding Aedes mosquitoes.