Montana Mosquito Surveillance
Anopheles freeborni
Species: Anopheles freeborni
Importance:
Females feed almost exclusively on mammals. Common hosts include cattle, horses, dogs, rabbits and man. Once considered an important vector of malaria in western North America.
Biology:
Larvae prefer clear, fresh water in sunlit or partly shaded pools. Commonly found in roadside depressions, around the margins of pools with cattails. Overwinter as adults.
Identifying Characteristics:
Maxillary palpi on head as long as proboscis, wing entirely dark scaled with distinct dark spots, palpi with dark scales, tuft of setae between eyes with both dark and pale setae.