Anopheles mosquitoes (>400 species and ~40 of interest as vectors of human disease) have a global distribution, are highly mobile, and thrive using human activities and movement to disperse. Due to the malaria-associated socioeconomic and health burdens they cause, Anopheles mosquitoes are almost exclusively studied as vectors of malaria parasites. However, when feeding on vertebrate blood, female Anopheles are exposed to pathogens and microorganisms present in the blood meal, including pathogenic arboviruses. While the dogma in the field is that Anopheles mosquitoes are not important players in arbovirus transmission compared to Aedes or Culex mosquitoes, the fact remains that pathogenic arboviruses have been isolated from wild Anopheles populations and detected by high-throughput parallel sequencing. As many Anopheline species distributions are currently expanding, they have significant potential to encounter and transmit, and drive invasion of arboviral pathogens. While the only arbovirus thought to be transmitted by Anopheles in the field is the alphavirus O’nyong nyong virus (ONNV), we have identified that multiple diverse Anopheles species are highly competent vectors for multiple diverse alphaviruses and, using Anopheles stephensi and Mayaro virus as a model, we have identified the mosquito virus midgut receptor. These results have broad impact in highlighting the neglected importance of Anopheles as drivers of global arbovirus infection and epidemics, and may lead to novel opportunities and targets for vector-borne disease control.