5814 Male Mosquito
Unknown male mosquito with fluffy antennae and mouthparts on goldenrod by the pond. Home, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 7 August 2022
According to inaturalist, this is an Inland Floodwater Mosquito (Aedes vexans).
Identification
Larvae:
- Antennae are shorter than head
- Short siphon with a tuft half as long as the diameter of the base, between pecten teeth
- Saddle on anal segment incomplete
Adult Female:
- Unbanded proboscis
- Scutum with short brown scales and no obvious pattern
- Most easily recognized by the sideways 'B' shaped markings on each abdominal tergite.
Range
common in southern Canada and throughout most of the US, but is less abundant in the extreme south / Nearly cosmopolitan (3)
Habitat
This is a floodwater mosquito, meaning that the eggs are laid offshore and when a heavy rain comes the water rises, floods the eggs and the egg hatches. Eggs are mainly found in freshwater pools and depressions.
Virtually any transient water can support Ae. vexans larvae, but rainpools in unshaded areas produce the largest broods. The species is most common in grassy pools that border wooded areas but specimens can be encountered in partially shaded woodland pools, roadside ditches, and vernal pools in open fields. - Wayne J. Crans, Rutgers University
Season
Larvae: April-September
Adults: May-October
Food
Mammalophilic - females prefer only the blood of mammals for protein meals.
Like all mosquitoes, they will also take sugary liquids like nectar, honeydew and sap.
Life Cycle
- Overwinters as an egg
- Multivoltine
Remarks
These mosquitos bite mammals and are known to travel distances from their breeding sites unlike other mosquitos. They are good vectors of EEE and the Cache Valley fever virus has been isolated from them
Aedes vexans is recognized as New Jersey’s most serious pest mosquito due to its abundance, widespread distribution and breeding potential in floodwater habitats. The mosquito probably does not reach the nuisance levels of Aedes sollicitans in coastal areas but causes annoyance over a much broader range of the state. The mosquito has not definitely been documented as a vector of disease but has been implicated as a secondary vector of eastern equine encephalitis and dog heartworm. - Wayne J. Crans, Rutgers University bugguide.net/node/view/57572
Medical importance
A. vexans is a known vector of Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm), myxomatosis (a deadly rabbit viral disease), and Tahyna virus, a seldom-diagnosed Bunyaviridae virus, which affects humans in Europe, causing a fever which disappears after 2 days, but afterward can cause encephalitis or meningitis. A. vexans is the most common mosquito in Europe, often comprising more than 80% the European mosquito community. Its abundance depends upon availability of floodwater pools. In summer, up to 8,000 mosquitoes can be collected per trap per night.[5] A. vexans exhibited significantly higher transmission rates of Zika virus than A. aegypti, and its wide geographic distribution, periodic extreme abundance, and aggressive human biting behavior increase its potential to serve as a Zika virus vector in northern latitudes outside the range of the primary vectors A. aegypti and A. albopictus.[6] In addition to several medically important viruses Aedes vexans mosquitoes have also been shown to harbour the insect-specific flavivirus Chaoyang virus[7] and insect-specific Aedes vexans Iflavirus.[8] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_vexans
5814 Male Mosquito
Unknown male mosquito with fluffy antennae and mouthparts on goldenrod by the pond. Home, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 7 August 2022
According to inaturalist, this is an Inland Floodwater Mosquito (Aedes vexans).
Identification
Larvae:
- Antennae are shorter than head
- Short siphon with a tuft half as long as the diameter of the base, between pecten teeth
- Saddle on anal segment incomplete
Adult Female:
- Unbanded proboscis
- Scutum with short brown scales and no obvious pattern
- Most easily recognized by the sideways 'B' shaped markings on each abdominal tergite.
Range
common in southern Canada and throughout most of the US, but is less abundant in the extreme south / Nearly cosmopolitan (3)
Habitat
This is a floodwater mosquito, meaning that the eggs are laid offshore and when a heavy rain comes the water rises, floods the eggs and the egg hatches. Eggs are mainly found in freshwater pools and depressions.
Virtually any transient water can support Ae. vexans larvae, but rainpools in unshaded areas produce the largest broods. The species is most common in grassy pools that border wooded areas but specimens can be encountered in partially shaded woodland pools, roadside ditches, and vernal pools in open fields. - Wayne J. Crans, Rutgers University
Season
Larvae: April-September
Adults: May-October
Food
Mammalophilic - females prefer only the blood of mammals for protein meals.
Like all mosquitoes, they will also take sugary liquids like nectar, honeydew and sap.
Life Cycle
- Overwinters as an egg
- Multivoltine
Remarks
These mosquitos bite mammals and are known to travel distances from their breeding sites unlike other mosquitos. They are good vectors of EEE and the Cache Valley fever virus has been isolated from them
Aedes vexans is recognized as New Jersey’s most serious pest mosquito due to its abundance, widespread distribution and breeding potential in floodwater habitats. The mosquito probably does not reach the nuisance levels of Aedes sollicitans in coastal areas but causes annoyance over a much broader range of the state. The mosquito has not definitely been documented as a vector of disease but has been implicated as a secondary vector of eastern equine encephalitis and dog heartworm. - Wayne J. Crans, Rutgers University bugguide.net/node/view/57572
Medical importance
A. vexans is a known vector of Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm), myxomatosis (a deadly rabbit viral disease), and Tahyna virus, a seldom-diagnosed Bunyaviridae virus, which affects humans in Europe, causing a fever which disappears after 2 days, but afterward can cause encephalitis or meningitis. A. vexans is the most common mosquito in Europe, often comprising more than 80% the European mosquito community. Its abundance depends upon availability of floodwater pools. In summer, up to 8,000 mosquitoes can be collected per trap per night.[5] A. vexans exhibited significantly higher transmission rates of Zika virus than A. aegypti, and its wide geographic distribution, periodic extreme abundance, and aggressive human biting behavior increase its potential to serve as a Zika virus vector in northern latitudes outside the range of the primary vectors A. aegypti and A. albopictus.[6] In addition to several medically important viruses Aedes vexans mosquitoes have also been shown to harbour the insect-specific flavivirus Chaoyang virus[7] and insect-specific Aedes vexans Iflavirus.[8] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_vexans