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Australian Wildlife

  Dengue Mosquito (Aedes aegypti)





Dengue Mosquito | Aedes aegypti photo
Female Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding

Image by James Gathany - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)

Dengue Mosquito | Aedes aegypti photo
Female Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding

Image by US Department of Agriculture - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)

Dengue Mosquito | Aedes aegypti photo
Dengue Mosquito takes flight after a blood meal (visible through her transparent abdomen).

Image by CDC/ Prof. Frank Hadley Collins, Dir., Cntr. for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Notre Dame - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)







DENGUE MOSQUITO FACTS

Identification
The Dengue Mosquito is a pest mosquito and can be a carrier of Dengue fever, Yellow fever, Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River virus. The female mosquito is dark coloured with white markings on the back and white bands on the legs. The thorax is dark with a lighter curved marking on each side and two light stripes running down the centre.

Size
length 3mm to 4mm

Habitat
Adults may be found in and near the house. They usually bite during the day or evening.

Food
females feed on blood

Breeding
The female lays eggs in water. When first laid eggs are white but soon turn black. The larvae feed on bacteria in the water

Range
The Dengue Mosquito is an introduced species found in Queensland, and has also been known in Western Australia, Northern Territory and southern New South Wales.



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Diptera
Family:Culicidae
Genus:Aedes
Species:aegypti
Common Name:Dengue Mosquito

Relatives in same Genus
  Asian Tiger Mosquito (A. albopictus)