What the...?!

I've lived in Florida my entire life and I'm pretty well acquainted with the State's amazing diversity of insect life! But this one, not so much! I was hunting around our back yard for something 'unusual' to shoot when I came upon this 'monster'! It was sitting atop a Frost Weed Flower bloom and appeared to be sampling the flower's nectar. I had my 40-150mm with a 1.4 teleconverter on board so I was standing a bit away to get the shots. Even after viewing it on my laptop, I had no idea what it was. Looked like a very large mosquito to me, but not the typical 'daddy longlegs' kind. Well, it's a Gallinipper! What a name! Psorophora ciliate, or Gallinipper, is very large, about the size of a U.S. quarter (6-7mm) or roughly 20 times the size of a 'regular' vampire mosquito! They are native to the Southeastern U.S. (lucky us) and are aggressive bloodsuckers that have been around at least since the 1800's.They have a very large proboscis which they use to feed on large mammals and can easily pierce the hide of cattle. Although this impressive bug is typically 'rare' it can be found from west Texas to Florida and all the way up to Maine. Although the Gallinipper has been found to carry some arboviruses, it isn't considered to be a reliable vector for West Nile Virus. Whew! As our climate becomes more warm and wet, we'll probably be seeing more of the Gallinipper!