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Species Aedes aegypti - Yellow Fever Mosquito
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera))
Infraorder Culicomorpha (Mosquitoes and Midges)
Family Culicidae (Mosquitoes)
Tribe Aedini
Genus Aedes
Species aegypti (Yellow Fever Mosquito)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus)
Orig. Comb: Culex aegypti Linnaeus, 1762
Or: Stegomyia aegypti as proposed by Reinert et. al (2004) Identification Medium-sized blackish mosquito easily recognized by a silvery-white "lyre-shaped" pattern of scales on its scutum. Segments 1 to 4 of the hind tarsi possess broad basal white rings, segment 5 is white. The coloration of both sexes is similar.
Range current range along Gulf coast from so. FL to so. TX, AZ*, CA, (2) - 2013 U.S. Ae. aegypti distribution map (3)
historical range: e. US to AZ (AZ-FL-NY-KS) / throughout most of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (4)(5)
*Note, major declines in the abundance of Ae. aegypti have been associated with the expansion of Ae. albopictus in both urban and rural areas (6)(7)(8)Habitat Densities are greatest in the Gulf Coastal states - Dr. Womack, 2013
Aedes aegypti comes in three polytypic forms: domestic, sylvan, and peridomestic.
The domestic form breeds in urban habitat, often around or inside houses.
The sylvan form is a more rural form, and breeds in tree holes, generally in forests, and
the peridomestic form thrives in environmentally modified areas such as coconut groves and farms (Tabachnick et al. 1978).
Season adults primarily May-Nov (9)Food Larvae feed on the aquatic microbiota that develops in artificial containers.
adults only feed on people (and other primates) (8)Life Cycle Under laboratory temperatures of 10–40°C, the duration of development from egg eclosion (hatching of the first instar) to adult was inversely related to temperature, ranging from 7.2 ± 0.2 days at 35°C to 39.7 ± 2.3 days at 15°C. The minimum temperature threshold for development (t) was determined as 8.3 ± 3.6°C and the thermal constant (K) was 181.2 ± 36.1 day-degrees above the threshold. Maximum survival rates of 88–93% were obtained between 20 and 30°C. The sex ratio (♀:♂) was 1 : 1 at all temperatures tested (15, 20, 25 and 35°C) except 30°C (4 : 3). (10)
The adult mosquitoes prefer to rest indoors, are unobtrusive, and prefer to feed on humans during daylight hours. There are two peaks of biting activity, early morning for 2 to 3 h after daybreak and in the afternoon for several hours before dark. However, these mosquitoes will feed all day indoors and on overcast days. (11)Remarks Aedes aegypti is the most competent vector of dengue virus. (11)(12)
Ae. aegypti, the most important and efficient epidemic vector of dengue viruses, has been in the United States for over 200 years and was responsible for transmitting major epidemics in the southern states in the 19th and early 20th centuries
The female mosquitoes are very nervous feeders, disrupting the feeding process at the slightest movement, only to return to the same or a different person to continue feeding moments later. Because of this behavior, A. aegypti females will often feed on several persons during a single blood meal and, if infective, may transmit dengue virus to multiple persons in a short time, even if they only probe without taking blood. It is not uncommon to see several members of the same household become ill with dengue fever within a 24- to 36-h time frame, suggesting that all of them were infected by a single infective mosquito. It is this behavior that makes A. aegypti such an efficient epidemic vector. Inhabitants of dwellings in the tropics are rarely aware of the presence of this mosquito, making its control difficult. (11)
In 1951, Max Theiler won a Nobel Prize for his YF vaccine, which is the only Nobel Prize given for a vaccine to date (Norrby 2007). Print References Morland, H.B. and M.E. Tinker. 1965. Distribution of Aedes aegypti infestations in the United States. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 14: 892–899.
Norrby, E. 2007. Yellow fever and Max Theiler: the only Nobel Prize for a vaccine. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 204: 2779-2784.
Tinker, M.E., and G.R. Hayes, Jr. 1959. The 1958 Aedes aegypti distribution in the United States. Mosquito News 19(2): 73-78.
Tabachnick WJ, Munstermann LE, Powell JR. 1978. Genetic distinctness of sympatric forms of Aedes aegypti in East Africa. Evolution 33: 287-295. Internet References Featured Creatures - Catherine Zettel and Phillip Kaufman, University of Florida, 2013
(Historical?) Distribution in Texas (13) Note, major declines in the abundance of Ae. aegypti have been associated with the expansion of Ae. albopictus in both urban and rural areas (6)
Rutgers University - Dr. Womack, Professor of Biology at Macon College, Macon, Georgia - 2013 Works Cited | 2. | Mosquitoes of the southeastern United States
Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena. 2013. The University of Alabama Press. xiii + 188 pp. | |
| 4. | Mosquitoes of North America (North of Mexico)
Stanley J. Carpenter, Walter J. Lacasse. 1974. Univ of California Pr. | |
| 6. | Spread of Aedes albopictus and decline of Ae. aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Florida.
O'Meara GF, Evans LF Jr, Gettman AD, Cuda JP. 1995. Journal of Medical Entomology 32(4): 554-562. | |
| 8. | Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe
Andrew Spielman, Sc.D., Michael D'Antonio. 2001. Hyperion Press. |  |
| 9. | Aedes aegypti in a Texas coastal county as an index of dengue fever receptivity and control.
Micks DW, Moon WB. 1980. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 29(6): 1382-1388. | |
| 11. | Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.
Gubler, D.J. 1998. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 11(3): 480–496. | |
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