09-02-2014, 06:18 PM
As far as telling them apart - the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is black with white bands on the legs and a single white stripe down the back. It's by far the most common mosquito; if you have hundreds of mosquitos around you, they're guaranteed to be this. The others you will almost always only see one or two at a time. The bites are about a quarter to half an inch and only last a day or two.
Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, is very similar but the mark on the back is lyre-shaped, with a curving mark on each side in addition to the straight middle one. It's a more efficient vector of dengue but is extremely rare, because it's been displaced by Ae. albopictus; I was with someone who was looking specifically for it and we only found it in the bathrooms at Spencer Beach Park, pretty much the driest part of the island.
Aedes japonicus was just introduced about 10 years ago. It's brown overall but still has the white bands on the legs like the other two, and is much bigger. It lives at higher elevations so there are mosquitos around Volcano now. Fortunately the bites aren't as bad, and they don't carry avian malaria.
Culex quinquefasciatus is the only night-biter you're likely to see. It's all brown but only about the size of the smaller Aedes. It's moderately common but you tend not to notice it because it doesn't occur in big swarms or buzz in your ear. But if you do get bitten, you really know it - the bites are about an inch across, and itch for over a week (at least on me).
Wyeomyia is also a relatively recent introduction; it's brown and smaller than the Aedes. You can easily recognize it if you see it sitting because the two middle legs that are held sticking up on other mosquitos are bent all the way over its head. It breeds only in bromeliads, so if you (or your neighbors) have those around, chances are you'll have these guys; if not, you won't. The bites are only about the size of those of Aedes but itch more.
There are also two species of predatory mosquito, Toxorhynchites, that don't bite people; they were deliberately introduced because the larvae eat the larvae of other mosquitos. Unfortunately while they're around, they're not very common, so they haven't been very effective. They're much larger than other mosquitos and metallic blue or green.
Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, is very similar but the mark on the back is lyre-shaped, with a curving mark on each side in addition to the straight middle one. It's a more efficient vector of dengue but is extremely rare, because it's been displaced by Ae. albopictus; I was with someone who was looking specifically for it and we only found it in the bathrooms at Spencer Beach Park, pretty much the driest part of the island.
Aedes japonicus was just introduced about 10 years ago. It's brown overall but still has the white bands on the legs like the other two, and is much bigger. It lives at higher elevations so there are mosquitos around Volcano now. Fortunately the bites aren't as bad, and they don't carry avian malaria.
Culex quinquefasciatus is the only night-biter you're likely to see. It's all brown but only about the size of the smaller Aedes. It's moderately common but you tend not to notice it because it doesn't occur in big swarms or buzz in your ear. But if you do get bitten, you really know it - the bites are about an inch across, and itch for over a week (at least on me).
Wyeomyia is also a relatively recent introduction; it's brown and smaller than the Aedes. You can easily recognize it if you see it sitting because the two middle legs that are held sticking up on other mosquitos are bent all the way over its head. It breeds only in bromeliads, so if you (or your neighbors) have those around, chances are you'll have these guys; if not, you won't. The bites are only about the size of those of Aedes but itch more.
There are also two species of predatory mosquito, Toxorhynchites, that don't bite people; they were deliberately introduced because the larvae eat the larvae of other mosquitos. Unfortunately while they're around, they're not very common, so they haven't been very effective. They're much larger than other mosquitos and metallic blue or green.