Skeeter-geddon? Giant mosquitoes coming to Florida!

By Morning Express with Robin Meade staff

updated 12:12 PM EDT, Wed March 13, 2013

NEED TO KNOW

Gallinippers are 20 times bigger than the usual buggers
Experts worry this summer could bring a big invasion to Florida
Morning Express viewer says sting feels like being 'stabbed'

The body of a female mosquito fills up and balloons as she sucks blood from a photographer's hand at Everglades National Park August 12, 2002 in Flamingo, Florida.

Florida has a big mosquito problem. Even bigger than the bug in the picture above!

How big? Mosquitoes that are about the size of a quarter -- and about 20 times bigger than a regular mosquito!

They're called Gallinippers, and experts are worried they could invade Florida during the summer rainy season. They can break through clothing and may be resistant to bug repellent.

HLN viewer Harvey H. says the beasties are common in eastern North Carolina. "We are plagued with them several times a year," he writes on the Morning Express Facebook page. "They are huge and their bite can, in fact, feel [as though] you have been stabbed."

Two bits of good-ish news, HLN affiliate Bay News 9 says Gallinippers don't carry West Nile Virus or encephalitis and they eat the eggs of the typical mosquito. So, at least there's that.

More from Bay News 9: Mosquito with knife-like sting sets sights on Floridians

Morning Express with Robin Meade airs Monday through Friday at 6 a.m. ET on HLN. Like the show on Facebook, follow on Twitter: @MorningExp.

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