I recently posted a photo of a mosquito on my blog with the caption 'moskito". Now, I'm feeling that I should have used "kulo' after reading about it in various "bonlingvaj" sites. The bonlingvistoj define kulo as what we in english call a mosquito. Zamenhof clearly used this word. However , most modern Esperanto dictionaries seemed to have changed the meaning of kulo to "gnat"and use the recently added "moskito" for mosquito instead. A check at the Revo & Simpla Vortaro dictionaries shows that the international use of moskito variants is common, which might follow the 15th "regulo". What do you guys think about this?

Hyperboreus skribis:

markotraviko skribis:

I recently posted a photo of a mosquito on my blog with the caption 'moskito". Now, I'm feeling that I should have used "kulo' after reading about it in various "bonlingvaj" sites. The bonlingvistoj define kulo as what we in english call a mosquito. Zamenhof clearly used this word. However , most modern Esperanto dictionaries seemed to have changed the meaning of kulo to "gnat"and use the recently added "moskito" for mosquito instead. A check at the Revo & Simpla Vortaro dictionaries shows that the international use of moskito variants is common, which might follow the 15th "regulo". What do you guys think about this?

I wouldn't see "mosquito" as a rule 15 candidate, as in its original language it is already underspecified and there is no international consense of which animal it is.
For example in my (Spanish speaking) country, which indeed is plagued by mosquitos, those animals are called "zancudos", as "mosquito" means "small fly" and can refer to various insects, not exclusively to the "zancudo".
I imagine when you talk to 10 people from ten Spanish speaking countries, you will probably get various mutually contradictory definitions of what a "mosquito" is (due to the fact that it just means "small male fly" "mosco -> mosquito" ).

So, you think should stick with "kulo"?

I have always called mosquitos "kuloj".

For a simple non-biting gnat I'd be more likely to say perhaps "muŝeto". I don't use "moskito" for anything.

Kulo devenas el la latina "Culex", kiu estas la scienca nomo por tiuj flugilhavaj insektoj. Do, serĉu ĉu en via lando la bestoj de tiu biologia ĝenro estas nomataj kiel Mosquito aŭ Zancudo.

Angla Vikipedio: Culex

The word Kulo comes from the Latin "Culex", that is the scientific name for these flying insects. Search if in your land that insects are named Mosquito or Zancudo.