'Giant' mosquitoes predicted to invade Florida

University of South Florida-St. Petersburg biologist Deby Cassill says the gallinipper mosquito first showed up after Tropical Storm Debby. Experts believe the insect will invade Florida during the summer rainy season. 

March 13, 2013 (ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) (WLS) -- Mosquito season in Florida has always been bad -- but now there's a new bug in town. Residents and visitors will be swatting a new ''giant'' mosquito.

Whether you're on a downtown stroll, eating lunch outside, or playing golf this summer you have a new "friend" to look out for. The state considered by many to have the most bugs is about to get a new tenant: A mosquito 20 times the size of the one you're used to, that feeds day and night, and has a sting some say feels like a poke from a knife.

"We're used to the little tiny ones that go to the back of your knees," said Deby Cassill, a biologist at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. "This one's right in your face. It's aggressive. It's got a nasty bite."

Cassill says the gallinipper mosquito first showed up after Tropical Storm Debby. Experts believe the insect will invade Florida during the summer rainy season.

"This thing's like a pterodactyl in the mosquito world, it's huge, and for me exciting, for most people, a little scary," Cassill said.

The bad news is the gallinipper targets humans, animals, even fish, with a sting that can penetrate clothing. But there is some good news: it eats the eggs of the mosquito we're used to, and it's doesn't carry West Nile, encephalitis or any other serious disease.