Category B – Mosquito Biology and Control Practice Test

Overwintering as adults is a strategy where the mosquito survives the winter in the adult stage, entering a dormant or slowed-down state to ride out the cold and then resume activity when conditions improve. The genus that uses this approach is Culiseta. Female Culiseta mosquitoes hunker down in sheltered places and enter diapause, greatly reducing their metabolism and reproductive activity until spring. This lets adults persist through winter and start biting and laying eggs as soon as temperatures rise.

Many other genera rely on eggs or other stages to survive winter, rather than persisting as adults, which is why Culiseta is the best match for an overwintering-as-adults pattern.