Culicidae

/kjuːlɪˈseɪdiː/ noun

Definition

The scientific family name for all mosquitoes, a group of two-winged insects known for feeding on blood and transmitting diseases.

Etymology

Derived from Latin 'culex' plus the Linnaean taxonomic suffix '-idae' used for all family-level names in scientific classification.

Kelly Says

Culicidae is one of the most important disease-vector families in all of medicine—malaria, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever are all spread by different members of this single family!

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