Mosquitoes
Aedes (Kompia) purpureipes / Atascosa Highlands, Coronado National Forest, Ruby, Santa Cruz Co., Arizona; August 2017
Aedes purpureipes is a poorly known mosquito of Mexico and southern Arizona, and the only known species of the subgenus Kompia. Their larvae are found in treeholes. Adult females bite humans, but otherwise nothing is known about their interactions with hosts. This individual was collected outside a large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats at the ghost town of Ruby.
Aedes (Geoskusea) baisasi / Outside of Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines; September 2017
Adult female mosquitoes take blood meals from a wide range of vertebrate hosts: amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and fishes. Aedes baisasi is one of the few mosquito species that feeds from fish. This mosquito is associated with the burrows of crabs and mud lobsters. Their larvae and pupae develop in the water of the burrows, while the adults rest on the interior surfaces of the burrows when inactive. Adult females feed primarily on mudskippers or tamabasakan in Ilonggo.
Toxorhynchites (Lynchiella) rutilus / Newnan's Lake, Gainesville, Alachua Co., Florida; May 2015
Most, but not all, mosquito species require proteins from a blood meal to produce mature eggs. All species of the genera Malaya and Toxorhynchites, and a few of other typically blood-feeding genera do not feed from blood. Toxorhynchites rutilus and other Toxorhynchites species are beneficial, and have been intentionally introduced outside their native ranges to control other mosquito species. Their larvae are predatory, and feed on other small invertebrates, especially the larvae of blood-feeding mosquitoes. Toxorhynchites mosquitoes are also among the largest mosquitoes.
Culex (Micraedes) biscaynensis / Biscayne Bay, Miami, Miami-Dade Co., Florida; February 2016
The Culex subgenus Micraedes includes eight species found in the Caribbean and Central America. One species, Culex biscaynensis, occurs in Florida. The larvae of Micraedes species develop in the water held in the leaf axils of bromeliads. Culex biscaynensis is known only from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami and at the edge of Biscayne Bay. It is unknown if this species is native to Florida, or introduced through bromeliad imports at the botanical garden, and unknown in its native range. Nothing is known about the host interactions of this, or any other Micraedes species.
Aedes (Ochlerotatus) fulvus pallens / Osceola National Forest, Columbia Co., Florida; June 2017
Aedes fulvus is a large forest mosquito found in the eastern United States and southward into South America. Larvae develop in ground pools following heavy rain. Adults are relatively rare, and females feed on mammals. All the blood meals of this species I've identified through DNA barcoding were derived from either armadillos or rabbits.
Aedes (Lewnielsenius) muelleri / Sunnyside Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona; August 2017
Aedes muelleri is another poorly known mosquito of the Sonoran Desert sky islands. Their larvae are found in treeholes and the leaf axils of agaves. In 2017, I collected a large number of larvae from a water-holding rothole in an oak, high up in the Huachucas. All the larvae turned out to be this species.
Aedeomyia (Aedeomyia) catasticta / Near Kabanakalan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines; September 2017
The seven Aedeomyia species are distributed throughout the tropics, with species in South America, Africa and tropical Asia. All are small, scaly mosquitoes. An introduced population of Aedeomyia squamipennis, a South American species, was recently discovered in southern Florida. These mosquitoes are associated with dense swamps and vegetated waters. Their larvae are thought to breathe, in part, through enlarged antennae.
Aedes (Protomacleaya) triseriatus / Newnan's Lake, Gainesville, Alachua Co., Florida; June 2017
Aedes triseriatus, the eastern treehole mosquito, feeds on mammals and reptiles, particularly squirrels and chimunks, and turtles. It is an important vector for La Crosse Virus, and is capable of transmitting Eastern and Western equine encephalitis viruses, Venezuelan encephalitis virus, and Yellow fever virus.
Limatus flavisetosus / St. Laurent du Maroni, French Guiana; February 2016
Limatus includes nine species of small, neotropical, sabethine mosquitoes. Their larvae develop in a variety of containers including fallen fruit husks, bamboo stumps and Heliconia flowers. Limatus flavisetosus has been found infected with Eastern equine encephalitis virus, but no Limatus species are known to be of particular medical importance.