Female mosquito (family Culicidae), light micrograph (LM). The mosquito's head is dominated by its large compound eyes (black spheres). Sprouting from the head are long, plumose (feather-like) antennae, which are sensory organs covered in fine hairs. The long thin proboscis protruding from the head is used for feeding. Only female mosquitoes feed on blood. They use a piercing proboscis (upper right) which consists of a bundle of no less than six stylets. At the tip of the proboscis blood is mixed with the saliva which prevents clotting and hence the obstruction of the narrow food channel within the proboscis. Culex mosquitoes inhabit urban or rural areas and usually bite in the evening or at night. They can transmit the diseases encephalitis and filariasis. Magnification: x40 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.