fly at night to nutrient-rich standing water to lay eggs. They breed profusely in dirty water collections, including stagnant drains, cesspools, septic tanks with leaks, burrow pits, and almost all organic polluted water collections. A single female can lay up to five rafts of eggs in a lifetime, with each raft containing thousands of eggs. The exact number varies depending on climatic conditions. The larvae feed on organic material in the water and require between five and eight days to complete their development at . The larvae pass through four larval instars, and towards the end of the fourth instar, they stop eating and undergo moulting to give rise to pupae. After 36 hours at , adults emerge. The exact timing of development can vary depending on temperature. In optimum temperature and humidity, the lifecycle will be completed in seven days, passing through the egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages. Both male and female adults take sugar meals from plants. After mating, the female seeks a blood meal from a mammal or bird, as ingested blood is necessary for egg development. C. quinquefasciatus shows a preference for the blood of birds, but will also commonly bite humans. Hosts Known hosts include birds (Aves), cattle (Bos taurus), dogs (Canis familiaris), Equus including donkeys (E. asinus), cats (Felis), mice (Mus musculus), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), rats (Rattus) and boars (Sus scrofa). Distribution "Quinx" are among the world's most abundant peridomestic mosquitoes, earning the nickname "southern house mosquito". The species' place of origin is uncertain. It may have been native to the lowlands of West Africa, or to Southeast Asia. Cx. quinquefasciatus is now found throughout subtropical and tropical areas worldwide, including the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, except for exceedingly dry or cold regions. Thomas Say described the species as "exceedingly numerous and troublesome". It rests in trees and high places. As a vector The southern house mosquito is a principal vector of numerous pathogens, transmitting the phlebovirus Rift Valley fever virus, and the two flaviviruses St. Louis encephalitis virus and West Nile virus, plus filarial worms and avian malarial parasites. It transmits zoonotic diseases that affect humans and wild and domestic animals, such as lymphatic filariasis, avian malaria, St. Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, and West Nile fever, and may be a vector of the Zika virus. It causes infection through biting during blood meal. In the southern U.S., it is