Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes after feeding. These female mosquitoes have fed on blood from a vertebrate animal, which can be a mammal, reptile, bird or amphibian. The blood fills the abdomen which becomes enlarged due to its blood meal contents. A droplet of blood is expelled from the distal tip of the abdomen to relieve the pressure. A. gambiae is found in Africa, where the female mosquitoes are a vector for the Plasmodium protozoa that causes malaria. Photographed in a research laboratory.