Aedes albopictus/NJ

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Subphylum	Hexapoda
Class	Insecta
Subclass	Pterygota
Infraclass	Neoptera
Superorder	Holometabola
Order	Diptera
Suborder	Nematocera
Infraorder	Culicomorpha
Family	Culicidae
Subfamily	Culicinae
Tribe	Aedini
Genus	Aedes

Scientific Name

Aedes albopictus

Common Name

Asian tiger mosquito

Common Name: Asian Tiger Mosquito
Family Name: Culicinae
Native Range: Southeast Asia
NJ Status: Widespread. It is moderately threatening to native communities.

General Description

• Small (body is about 3/16 of an inch long) with black and white striped legs and a distinctive single white stripe down the thorax
• The mosquito has an aggressive daytime human-biting behavior and ability to vector many viruses, including West Nile virus
• It has been nominated as among 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders according to the Global Invasive Species Database

Life Cycle

• The mosquito has four distinct life stages, which consist of egg, larva, pupa, and adult
• The first three stages occur in water
• The adult is a free-flying insect that feeds on humans, other animals, and the juice of plants
• It is known for its ability to survive in very small collections of water, requiring only ¼ inch of depth to complete its life cycle

Habitat

• Agricultural areas, coastland, estuarine habitats, marine habitats, natural forests, planted forests, range/grasslands, scrub/shrublands, urban areas, water courses and wetlands
• Known as a “container breeder” because it deposits its eggs in small collections of contained water, rather than the swamps or marshes used by most mosquito species
• Although it is most often associated with discarded tires, it can adapt to a wide range of confined, stagnant water sources, such as flower pots, bird baths, cemetery urns, discarded soda cans and other litter, abandoned containers and other water recipients

Control Recommendations

• This mosquito is difficult to suppress or control due to its ability to adapt to various environments, its close contact with humans, and its reproductive biology
• Control begins with destroying the places where they lay their eggs, which are never far from where people are being bitten, since they are weak flyers, with only about a 180-meters (200-yard) lifetime flying radius
• Locate any containers holding stagnant water, puddles lasting more than three days, or litter which can also hold rain water, then empty or fill them with sand or fine gravel to prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs there
• If draining is not an option, standing water can be periodically treated with properly labeled insecticides or Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), which is often formed into doughnut shaped “mosquito dunks”, readily available at farm, garden, and pool suppliers
• Large scale control requires coordination with county Mosquito Control Commissions