Asian tiger mosquito
The Asian Tiger Mosquito, or forest day mosquito is a kind of mosquito that is native to tropical and subtropical South-East Asia. It has black and white striped legs, and small black and white striped body. The Asian Tiger Mosquito is about 2 to 10 mm long.[1] The males are about 20% smaller than the females.
| Asian tiger mosquito | |
|---|---|
| File:Aedes Albopictus.jpg | |
| Female at the start of feeding | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: | |
| Subgenus: | |
| Species: | A. albopictus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894)
| |
| 240px | |
| Dark blue: Native range Dark green: introduced (as of December 2007) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Culex albopictus Skuse, 1894 | |
In the last few decades, the species has spread to many other countries, mainly through the transport of goods.[2] Many communities see this species as a pest. Unlike other mosquitos, the Asian Tiger Mosquito associates with humans. Other mosquitos tend to live in wetlands. The Asian Tiger Mosquito is also active during the day, while most other mosquitos are only active during dusk and dawn.
The Asian Tiger Mosquito can spread several diseases, such as West Nile virus, Yellow fever virus, St. Louis encephalitis,[3] dengue fever, and Chikungunya fever,[4]
Asian Tiger Mosquito Media
- Tiger Mosquito Stinger att the microscope 200x.jpg
Tiger mosquito leg at 200x magnification
- Aedes albopictus on human skin.jpg
Bloated female at the end of a meal
- Toxorhynchites speciosus 01 L.D..jpg
Toxorhynchites speciosus larvae (an adult is shown here) feed on the larvae of Aedes albopictus.
- AlbopictusCDCUSA.png
Estimated distribution of Ae. albopictus in the United States, CDC 2016
- Dry Aedes albopictus eggs.jpg
Dry eggs from the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, found on the wooden paddle of an ovitrap. Immersing these eggs in water will rehydrate them and the larvae will soon hatch. Length of one egg ca 1/2mm.
- Aedes albopictus 2.jpg
The proboscis of an Aedes albopictus mosquito feeding on human blood.*Under experimental conditions the Aedes albopictus mosquito, also known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito, has been found to be a vector of West Nile Virus. Aedes is a genus of the Culicine family of mosquitos.
- Ditch litter 5622.jpg
Litter in roadside ditches makes an ideal breeding ground for the Asian tiger mosquito.
References
- ↑ Y.-M. Huang (1968) Neotype designation for 'Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus' (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 7(4): 297–302
- ↑ J.-E. Scholte & F. Schaffner (2007): Waiting for the tiger: establishment and spread of the Aedes albopictus mosquito in Europe. In: Emerging pests and vector-borne diseases in Europe. Volume 1, herausgegeben von W. Takken & B. G. J. Knols. Wageningen Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-8686-053-1
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).