Mosquito Aedes Aegypti

Aedes Aegypti

The mosquito that has attracted the most attention is the mosquito Aedes aegypti. It belongs to the family Culcidae, consisting of about 2,500 species

(Encyclopedia Britanica 1999), along with other genera of mosquitoes such as

Anopheles, Culex, Orthopodomyia, and the Toxorynchites, to name a few (Womack

1993, E.B. 1999). This mosquito has been known best for transmitting yellow fever and human dengue throughout the tropic and subtropic of the Americas (Womack, M 1993).

This mosquito along with others are looked upon as pests and nuisances in modern day society because of their attraction to moisture, lactic acid, carbon dioxide, body heat and movement (E.B. 1999) but we can not confuse the Aedes aegypti with any other mosquito for it has a very distinct look to it as well as a specific habitat. It has many related species and it’s geographic distribution is extremely wide and varied.

The Aedes aegypti, with regard to both sexes, are generally similar in coloration

(Womack 1993). The female adult is noticed by it’s small dark figure that is colored by white markings and banded legs. Its proboscis or snout is mostly black with regard to the white palp tips (Russel 1996). The dorsal pattern of white scales on the scutum is in the shape of a ‘lyre’ with two central based stripes that contrast with the dark scales present on the insect (Womack 1993,

Russel 1996). Its wings are dark scaled and femur and hind legs are pale scaled for about three-quarters, and dark scaled for about two-thirds (Russel 1996).

The first through the fourth segments of the hind tarsi are characterized by white rings and the fifth segment is all white.

Adults can be found in abundance in towns and cities near human dwelling places., living in trees, herbaceous plants, dim closets, cabinets or even old automobile tires (Womack 1993, Juliano 1998). The species feeds mostly during the day increasing its feeding rate two hours after sunrise and several hours before sunset ( Womack

1993, Geographical Magazine 1998), while it is not rare for females to feed under artificial light at night. The above feeding habits of the Aedes aegypti contributes to the species’ life span which is dependent on nutrition, temperature and humidity (Womack

1993) as well as its ability to avoid predators such as reptiles or even sometimes other types of mosquitoes (E.B. 1999). The male mosquito can only live a short time ranging from a few days to a couple weeks whereas the female can live up to a month which allows her to reproduce longer (Womack 1993).