Atlantic mosquito
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Genus: Aedes
Species:
A. atlanticus
Binomial name
Aedes atlanticus
Dyar and Knab, 1906[1]

Aedes atlanticus is a species of mosquito native to the southeastern United States. It is known for carrying a number of pathogens that can infect humans, most notably yellow fever.

Description

Ae. atlanticus is a medium-sized mosquito with prominent white stripes on its abdomen. The females of this species are pestiferous, like their aptly named close cousin Aedes tormentor.[2] In addition to being a vector of yellow fever, the mosquito can carry the Keystone virus, which is common in small animals in Florida, and may be common among humans with only minor symptoms, though only two cases have been verified, as of June 2018.[3]

Ae. atlanticus mosquitoes are widespread and common in the southeast US, from Texas and southern Missouri all the way through Maryland. Their reproductive cycle can carry some viruses transstadially through the different stages of the insect's life: a female mosquito may lay eggs carrying the virus, which hatch into infected larvae, eventually maturing into adults that can infect mammals while injecting their anti-coagulant saliva during a bite.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit: Aedes (Och.) atlanticus, http://www.wrbu.org/mqID/mq_medspc/AD/AEatl_hab.html, retrieved 27 Jun 2018.
  2. ↑ Burkett-Cadena, Nathan D. (2013-03-29). Mosquitoes of the Southeastern United States. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-1781-2.
  3. ↑ May, Ashley. "Keystone virus makes first jump from mosquitoes to humans with confirmed case in Florida teen, study says". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  4. ↑ LeDuc, JW; Burger, JF; Eldridge, BF; Russell, PK (1975). "Ecology of Keystone virus, a transovarially maintained arbovirus". Ann N Y Acad Sci. 266: 144–51. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb35095.x. PMID 20017. S2CID 39831398.


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