Northern Floodwater Mosquito

Aedes sticticus · Order: Diptera · Family: Culicidae

Also called: floodwater mosquito

Can bite. Females bite people, causing mild bites.

Source: Wikipedia

Northern Floodwater Mosquito
Photo: Jacob Weston, CC BY

Aedes sticticus is an uncommon mosquito but can be abundant in river floodlands. Only the females bite humans.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Aedes sticticus is an uncommon mosquito, though it may become abundant along river floodlands.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

It has been reported to bite humans.

Source: Wikipedia

Does it bite or sting?

Females bite people, causing mild bites.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is associated with river floodlands where it can be locally abundant.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Little is known about its life cycle, but it is believed to overwinter as eggs.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It has a patchy but wide distribution in temperate Europe, Asia and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Montana, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland, Massachusetts.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Northern Floodwater Mosquito photo 3
Photo: Leila Dasher, CC BY
Northern Floodwater Mosquito photo 4
Photo: Leila Dasher, CC BY
Northern Floodwater Mosquito photo 5
Photo: Gordon C. Snelling, CC BY
Northern Floodwater Mosquito photo 6
Photo: Blake Bringhurst, CC BY

Questions people ask

Do they bite people?

Yes, only the female Northern Floodwater Mosquito bites humans.

Source: Wikipedia

What habitats do they prefer?

They are often abundant along river floodlands.

Source: Wikipedia

How do they survive the winter?

They are thought to overwinter in the egg stage.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Culicidae)

Asian Tiger MosquitoAsian Tiger MosquitoAedes albopictusCan spread germs or diseaseHouse Mosquito ComplexHouse Mosquito ComplexCulex pipiensCan spread germs or diseaseYellow Fever MosquitoYellow Fever MosquitoAedes aegyptiCan spread germs or diseaseInland Floodwater MosquitoInland Floodwater MosquitoAedes vexansCan spread germs or diseaseAsian Bush MosquitoAsian Bush MosquitoAedes japonicusCan biteSouthern House MosquitoSouthern House MosquitoCulex quinquefasciatusCan spread germs or disease

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_sticticus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.