The Gallinipper is a huge, slow-flying mosquito. Wing length is up to 6.5 mm. Males, which do not bite, are sometimes attracted to lights at night. They are relatively infrequent.

Males have incredible bottlebrush-like feathery antennae.

Male - Durham, NC 9/9/08.

Other common names include Galinipper (variant spelling), Shaggy-legged Gallinipper, and Feather-legged Gallinipper Mosquito

Male - Durham, NC 6/15/2009.

Females, however, do bite! And the bite is said to be painful. This is the largest biting mosquito in the US.

They're not all bad, though: the larvae are active predators and feed on other mosquito larvae and other aquatic invertebrates, they're never around in large numbers, and they're really cool looking!

Female - Chatham Co., NC 9/20/08.