CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Portland is seeing a big addition to its mosquito population.
Psorophora ciliata can be nearly an inch long when stretched out, said Portland Public Works Director Ken Banks.
"It's one that we haven't seen in this area before," he said.
Although their size can be startling, Banks said they're not believed to be carriers of disease.
Banks said that Portland's vector team didn't find any evidence of the psorophora ciliata at all last year.
"It's a very noticeable mosquito for its sheer size," he said.
The species is known to grow up to three times the size of a typical mosquito, with Banks saying that the insects are roughly the size of a quarter.
They're described as floodwater mosquitoes, due to their ability to thrive in standing water.
"Farm, fields and ditches -- and that's where these mosquitos are hatching out," he said.
This is the first year this type of mosquito has been seen in the city of Portland. Banks said that due to its rarity, his department is reporting the species to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
"It puts San Patricio County on the map, so to speak, because that's the first sample that's been sent from the county," he said.
Corpus Christi Animal Care Services Program Manager Joel Skidmore said the variant of mosquito has not been captured in Corpus Christi.
"We haven't seen that specific one, which doesn't mean it is in our community, it just has not been captured in one of the traps that we submit the samples for," he said.
Since the species has been identified in Portland, Banks said residents should not be scared.
"They're a threatening mosquito just by their size, but in terms of their ability to spread diseases," he said. "They're really not effective to be able to do that."
Banks said that the large mosquitos can fly long distances.
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