The Northern House Mosquito (Culex pipiens), also known as the common house mosquito or simply house mosquito, is a member of the order Diptera (flies). House mosquitoes are some of the most common mosquitoes in the United States. More specifically, the northern house mosquito is considered as the most common mosquito to the northern regions of the U.S. North of the 39th parallel north in the US, only northern house mosquitoes are present, whereas south of the 36th parallel north, only southern house mosquitoes (C. quinquefasciatus) are present. Additionally, they can be found in both urban and suburban temperate and tropical regions across the world. It is prevalent on most continents, including North and South America, Europe, and some areas of Asia and Northern Africa.
The northern house mosquito's diet typically consists of vertebrae blood, as they consume human blood, but prefer bird blood of species that are nearly linked to human interaction, such as doves and pigeons. Furthermore, at the end of the summer and the start of the fall season before it is time for them to overwinter, northern house mosquitoes subsist on nectar and other sugary food sources in order to store fat.
Northern house mosquitoes do not hibernate during the winter, which differs from many other mosquito species. Instead, they overwinter, meaning that they live throughout the winter season. The practice of overwintering tends to vary based on location, and in effect temperature and the period of time per day an organism receives sunlight, also known as the photoperiod.
Typically, mosquitoes mate when temperatures are the most temperate, and many species begin breeding when temperatures reach 50 °F or 10 °C. Because of this temperature condition, mosquito breeding seasons vary by region and climate characteristics of a given area.