Any of certain insects of the family Culiciddae, having a rather narrow abdomen, usually a long and slender but firm proboscis and narrow wings. The males have featherlike antennae and the mouth parts are not fitted for piercing but the females have a set of needlelike organs in the proboscis with which they puncture the skin of animals. Though the males live on a diet of plant juices, the females drink blood to nourish developing eggs. They were a curse to people who built the canal. The mosquito bite left an annoying itch and transmitted diseases such as malaria.
