The Asian tiger mosquito bites by day and can breed in a bottle cap of water
Most mosquitoes are creatures of dusk and wetlands. The Asian tiger mosquito breaks both rules: it lives close to people, hunts in broad daylight, and its larvae can grow in under 30 millilitres of standing water. Hitching rides on cargo and travellers, this striped insect has spread far beyond its native Southeast Asia.
It gets its name from its markings: black with bright silvery-white bands on the legs and body. The surest identifier is a single white stripe running from between the eyes straight down the back of the thorax, which lookalikes such as Europe's Culiseta annulata lack. Adults are under 10 millimetres long and usually much smaller, since larval crowding and scarce food stunt their growth. Males are about a fifth smaller than females and have bushy antennae tuned to hear the female's faint whine.
Only females drink blood, which they need to develop eggs; otherwise both sexes sip nectar and plant juices. A female locates hosts by carbon dioxide, skin chemicals, humidity and sight, and traps baited with fatty acids, ammonia and lactic acid work especially well. Her bite is quick and she dodges swats with ease. She often breaks off a meal early and moves to another host, and she feeds on birds and other mammals as well as people.
That restless feeding is what makes the species a public health concern. By biting several hosts per egg cycle, it can carry viruses between them, including dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, and it can host Zika. Its willingness to bite different species also makes it a possible bridge for pathogens such as West Nile virus that jump between animals and humans.
Females lay eggs just above the waterline rather than on the surface, and any small container will do. They also prefer water near flowers. Because they seldom fly more than 200 metres, breeding sites are usually close by. The insect was first described in 1894 as Culex albopictus, meaning white-painted, and taxonomists still argue over whether it belongs in the genus Aedes or Stegomyia.
Source: Aedes albopictus
