Is this large insect caught in Negros Occidental a mosquito?

Can mosquitoes get as large as the insect that seemingly bit Edrey Espartero in Murcia, Negros Occidental one night?

As seen on Kuya Kim’s “24 Oras” report Tuesday, Espartero said the insect landed on him as he was dozing and that he felt a twinge. His video shows a large insect with some of its long legs trapped between his fingers.

He said he worried that the insect was carrying the dengue virus. However, entomologist Dr. Amelia Nicolas said that it was not a mosquito.

“‘Yon ay tinatawag na crane fly,” she said. “Walang gano’ng kalaking mosquito. Yung crane flies, ‘pag at risk sila, yung wings nila ay naka-spread, pero yung mosquito ay nakataas.”

“Baka dumikit lang sa kanya, feel niya, syempre psychological. ‘Di siya nagba-bite. It’s harmless. Wala silang capacity to transmit diseases kasi yung kanilang mouth parts ay ‘di kagaya ng sa mosquito.”

Meanwhile, Kuya Kim said mosquito bites feel itchy as it’s the skin’s reaction to the mosquito injecting a special kind of protein into a human’s body through its saliva. — Franchesca Viernes/BM, GMA News