Mos-qui’to, n.

(mus-kē’to), n.; pl. MOSQUITOES. [Sp. & Pg. mosquito, from Sp. mosca, Lat. musca, fly; Fr. moustique.] (Entom.) A small insect, of several different species, of the genus Culex, having a sharp pointed proboscis, by means of which it punctures the skins of animals and sucks their blood, the minute wounds thus made being often attended with swelling and a considerable degree of pain. The larvæ are developed in water. The common mosquito of the United States is C. mosquito, and there are various species that abound in marshes and low lands, and whose stings are peculiarly painful. [Written also musketo, musquito.]