Biography of a Bloodsucker

Born a wriggler in a world of water,
I emerge with wings to the world of air.
Whorls of hair surround my long antennae
and minuscule scales cover my wing veins.
My brothers dine on water, nectar -
while my sisters and I live
as the vampires of the insect world.
We dine on the warm blood of Earth’s creatures;
it is a scent I am drawn to more surely than
a thirsty animal is drawn by the scent of water.
Exchanging saliva for blood
I drink from unsuspecting victims.
An irritated bump rises where I bite.
I spread more disease while I dine
than prostitutes satisfying their Johns.
Malaria, dengue, yellow fever,
encephalitis, live where I‘ve been.
Culicidae, they call my great family.
Scientists put us in the order Diptera.
My family spans the globe;
we’re two-thousand species strong.
From the tropics to the Arctic Circle,
from lowlands to high mountain peaks, we live, we live!
I am a pest, a nuisance.
I am Culex pipiens,
your common house mosquito.

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