"TORNADOES" of sex-starved mosquitoes have blotted out the sun in east Russia as they gather for mating season.
The swarm is one of the worst yet in the region.
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A 'tornado' if mosquitoes as they gather for mating season Credit: The Siberian Times 4
Mosquitoes blizzarding around a windscreen Credit: The Siberian Times
Fast-moving pillars with millions of the insects rampaged on the the peninsula of Kamchatka, far-eastern Russia.
“I drove through the cloud of these mosquitoes for several hundred metres,” said Alexei, from Ust-Kamchatsk.
“It wasn’t a pleasant experience as I could hardly see the road.
“I didn’t dare open my windows.
“Giant pillars of mosquitoes were visible everywhere I looked.
"I could see some of them breaking apart only to get back together into a new tornado.”
Experts told Kamchatka Inform media outlet locals should not worry about this swarming, which was a mating phenomenon.
“These are male mosquitoes swarming around one of several females in order to mate - there is nothing wrong with this,” said entomologist Lyudmila Lobkova.
The swarming males mosquitoes “do not attack humans", she said.
“These columns of mosquitoes looked like they touched the clouds,” said Alexei.
Locals say they are used to such swarms but they are worse this year.
Repellents do not work on them, said a report.
Back in the UK, an expert warned that Asian tiger mosquitoes are set to take hold as the heatwave sends temperatures soaring.
The UK is home to around 30 different types of mosquito, some of which can bite — leaving itchy marks on the skin.
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It was accidentally introduced to Europe in the 1970s and has since become established in some parts of the continent such as Italy and France.
The Asian tiger mosquito is around four times larger than a normal mosquito and carries diseases such as dengue fever and Zika virus.
It is thought the tiger mosquito was first introduced to Europe through a shipment of goods from China arriving in Albania in the 1970s.
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Mosquito 'tornadoes' can be seen from afar in Kamchatka 4
The mosquitoes are deemed safe and don't attack humans