| MadSci Network: Zoology |
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for your question about the interactions between the Asian Tiger
Mosquito and humans. The Asian Tiger Mosquito has followed humans all
over the world. These mosquitos like to lay eggs in small containers of
water, like old tires, flower pots, bird baths, plastic cups, and just
about anything else that you could imagine. Because the Asian Tiger
Mosquito can live in such small places, it is very difficult to stop
them. (For information on other insects that have moved with humans all
over the world, read this MAD Scientist essay I wrote about Hou
seflies!)
The scientific name for the Asian Tiger Mosquito is Aedes
albopictus. Humans dislike the Asian Tiger Mosquito for a number of
reasons. The most obvious reason is that the Asian Tiger Mosquito causes
a very itchy bump when it feeds. These mosquitoes will feed at any time
of day, and they are very aggressive. Humans also dislike the Asian Tiger
Mosquito because it can spread diseases. The diseases that are spread by
this species of mosquito are: Dengue fever (also known as break-bone fever
because it makes you feel like your bones are breaking), Dog Heart Worm
(which already kills unprotected dogs and cats in the United States),
and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a very deadly virus that is spread from
birds to horses and humans. More information on the life cycle and
behavior of the Asian Tiger Mosquito can be found from Rutgers University's website.
Most of the methods we have used in the past to control mosquitos have
been for mosquitos that breed in large areas of water. Because the Asian
Tiger Mosquitos breed in small containers, those old methods don't work
for them. As you might have imagined, many people are trying to figure
out clever new ways to kill the Asian Tiger Mosquito. One method has been
to study other animals that eat mosquitos. Some animals, such as the Mosquito Fish, are
great hunters of immature mosquitos which live in ponds. Other animals,
such as copepods and red eared turtles are being used in my home city of
New Orleans, where the Asian Tiger Mosquitos are very bad. (I have
several itchy bites from one mosquito that snuck into my bedroom last
night!) You can read what the New Orleans Mosquito
Control
Board has to say on their website. (By following the link labeled
Frequently Asked Questions on the bottom of the page, you can read how New
Orleans has used very clever methods to help control the Asian Tiger
Mosquito.)
When I worked for the State of Maryland's Mosquito Control Division, the
Asian Tiger Mosquito was just becoming very bad there. We used Mosquito
Fish to stop the mosquitos from breeding in ponds, but there was little
that we could do to prevent the mosquitos from using stopped up gutters,
and standing water in people's back yards. The woman I worked for,
Jeannine Dorothy, is a very smart woman who is trying an experiment to see
if copper might be able to stop mosquitos in places when people won't
clean up their yards. The experiment, as well as other information about
the asian Tiger Mosquito, can be found in an article from the Washington Post.
These are the interactions that people are currently having with the Asian
Tiger Mosquito. In summary, the mosquitos have moved into the United
States, and are biting a lot of people, causing the people to be very
upset. We are also worried about diseases being spread by these
mosquitos. These mosquitos breed in small containers which are hard to
monitor and put pesticides into. So Mosquito Control Agencies are trying
new ways to control the Asian Tiger Mosquitos.
I hope this answers your questions. If anything remains unclear, please
let me know!
Sincerely yours,
John Carlson
MAD Entomologist
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Zoology.