Culiseta melanura

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Culiseta melanura, the black-tailed mosquito, is a species of mosquito in the Culicidae family. It lives mainly in the eastern and central United States.

The adult female mostly bites birds. Because of this, C. melanura can spread the Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) between birds. Mammals can become infected with EEEV when other mosquitoes bite infected birds and then bite mammals, spreading the virus.

C. melanura is a vector of Eastern equine encephalitis virus. Some studies suggest that when EEEV is present, infected C. melanura may have a shorter lifespan, which can affect transmission.

Taxonomy:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Culicidae
- Genus: Culiseta
- Species: C. melanura
- Binomial name: Culiseta melanura (Coquillett, 1902)
- Synonym: Culex melanurus Coquillett, 1902