Wet weather brings
out mosquitoes
by Jan TenBruggencate
Mosquitoes getting you down?
Those rains a couple of months ago
are helping fuel a sudden; increase in the numbers of mosquitoes,
particularly the night-biting ones, in parts of Hawaii.
Bishop Museum entomologist Gordon
Nishida said Hawaii has four main types of biting mosquitoes.
Actually, there's a fifth -- the scary yellow fever mosquito --
but he's disappearing from most of the Islands, leaving us with
Big Four. Here's a primer:
- The night-biter, Aedes
nocturus, has adapted for changes in weather. It lays
its eggs in mudholes, and the eggs survive even after the
mud dries up. After the next big rain, even months later,
; the eggs hatch into wrigglers. A month or two later,
you don't dare go outside at night. This one is the
biggest of Hawaii's biting mosquitoes, and Nishida said
it will go a long way for a meal. It can fly as far as 20
miles;.
- By contrast, the tiger
mosquito, Aedes albopictus, doesn't fly far at
all. It's a day biter that will sometimes continue
harassing you into dusk. It gets its name from the white
stripes on its black body. Since they don't-fly far, you
can get some- relief by carefully dumping any small
source of breeding water. Old tires, tin cans, and even
water-containing holes in trees can provide them with
breeding room.
- The pale brown Southern house
mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, also lays its
eggs in containers, but near-home treatment isn't as
useful. It will go three miles to stick you, generally
around dusk or a little later. This one was the first
mosquito to arrive in Hawaii. The year was 1826.
- The bromeliad mosquito, Wyeomyia
mitchelli, as its name suggests, will breed in tiny
pools of water in house or garden plants like the
bromeliad, the scientist's name for the pineapple family.
It's the smallest of the lot, and it likes to bite at
dusk.
In all the biting mosquitoes, it's
only the females that bite. Nishida said they need a meal of
blood for the protein required to develop eggs. Males don't bite,
and pretty much don't even feed during the adult phase of their
lives.
Nishida, along with entomologist
JoAnn Tenorio is author of two classics of pesky critter
identification in "Hawaii: What Bit Me?" and
"What's Bugging Me."
From: The Honolulu Advertiser,
September 23, 1996
Advertiser Kauai Bureau Chief Jan
TenBruggencate writes weekly on environmental issues relating to
Hawaii. He welcomes your ideas. Call him at 808-245-3074, fax him
at 808-246-9107, or send e-mail to tenb@aloha.net.
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