Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1895)
Common names: Asian tiger mosquito, the banded mosquito of Bengal; Latin: albus = white, pictus = painted
New Zealand Status: Not Present
Highly invasive, particularly because of the huge international trade in used motor vehicle tyres (Craig 1993). Aedes albopictus is a high biosecurity threat because it is a known vector of dengue fever in the South Pacific (Belkin 1962) and eastern equine encephalitis virus in USA (Craig 1993) and has the potential to survive in New Zealand (Laird 1995). It is capable of transmitting at least 22 viruses known to cause human disease, including all four serotypes of the dengue fever virus, the yellow fever virus and a range of viruses that cause inflamatory diseases of the brain. (Eberhart-Phillips 1999).
Vector and Disease Information
In the USA, laboratory studies have shown that Aedes albopictus is at least as effective as the natural vector for all of the major agents causing human encephalitis: eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), western equine encephalitis (WEE), St Louis encephalitis (SLE), Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), and La Crosse (California serogroup) encephalitis (LAC). Other viruses also readily transmitted, not present in the USA, include: Japanese B encephalitis, Ross River virus, and chikungunya virus. EEE has been isolated from natural populations of this species (Craig 1993). Aedes albopictus has become a competent vector of West Nile virus in North America after the virus became established in 1999 (Turell et al. 2001).
Aedes albopictus is an efficient vector of dengue (Belkin 1962). Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) or Dengue shock syndrome is due to serial infection of two of the dengue serotypes, 1 - 4. In the Caribbean, each island had its own serotype, but now modern transportation and trade is mixing the serotypes and hence increasing the threat of dengue-DHF (Craig 1993).
Aedes albopictus may also affect the disease potential for yellow fever in Brazil by bridging the ecological niche between jungle and urban transmission cycles (Gomes et al. 1999; CDC 2001).
Distribution (based on Biogeographic Regions)
Australasian Biogeographic Region
New Zealand
Not present, intercepted
In a used-tyre importer's yard in 1993; in motor vehicles shipped from Japan in August 1998 (Eberhart-Phillips 1999); in an empty shipping container offloaded at Port of Tauranga in 1999 (The Nelson Mail 19/3/1999); and in 2001 (NZ Ministry of Health).
Australia
Not present, intercepted
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Torres Strait Islands, Western Australia (University of Sydney web site).
Rest of region
Present, introduced
Caroline Islands (Palau Islands), Fiji (CDC 2001), Indonesia (Irian Jaya) (Colless 1973), Solomon Islands (Santa Cruz Islands) (Elliott 1980, cited in Lee et al. 1987), Tuamoto Archipelago (eradicated) (Rosen et al 1976), Marianas Islands (Guam), USA (Hawaii) (Huang 1972).
Oriental Biogeographic Region
Present, endemic
Bangladesh (Aslamkhan 1971), Cambodia, Chagos Islands, China (including Hainan Island, Hong Kong) (Huang 1972), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal) (Malhotra & Mahanta 1994, Huang 1972), Indonesia (Celebes, Java, Kabaena, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas, Tarakan), Japan (Okinawa Island, Ogasawara Islands, Ryukyu Archipelago, Amami Island, Yaeyama Island), Laos, Malaysia (Malay Peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (Huang 1972).
Afrotropical Biogeographic Region
South Africa
Not present, intercepted
Rest of region
Present, introduced
Cameroon (Fontenille & Toto 2001), Djibouti, La Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius (WRBU 2001), Nigeria (CDC 1991), Seychelles.
Nearctic Biogeographic Region
USA
Present, introduced
First discovered in Houston, Texas, in August 1985 arriving in shipments of used tyres from Japan and Korea (CDC 1986). By December 1987 Aedes albopictus was present in 92 counties in 15 states, and by 1997 it had spread to 678 counties in 25 states (Moore & Mitchell 1997).
Neotropical Biogeographic Region
Present, introduced
Argentina (Rossi et al 1999), Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico (CDC 2001b, Casas-Martínez & Torres-Estrada 2003).
Palearctic Biogeographic Region
Present, endemic
China (northern) (Huang 1972), Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku), Korea (North Korea, South Korea) (Tanaka et al. 1979).
Present, introducued
Albania (Adhami & Reiter 1998), France (Schaffner et al. 2001), Greece (WRBU 2001), Italy (including Sardinia) (Adhami & Reiter 1998).
Taxonomic Position
This species is placed in Group C (scutellaris) of the subgenus Stegomyia, which includes polynesiensis and 16 other species from the South Pacific. There can be problems distinguishing the larvae in some parts of the world, for example see Lamche & Whelan (2003). A recent suggested change in taxonomy (Reinert & Harbach 2005) has elevated the subgenus Stegomyia to generic level, making the new name for this mosquito Stegomyia albopicta.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis is the minimum set of characters and states that will separate this taxon from all others in this set of taxa.
| Diagnostic characters | State |
| Erect scales of the head | Occiput only |
| Lower mesepimeral setae (one or more) | Present |
| Pale scales of proboscis | Absent |
| Pale scales on the wings | Present along front veins, on subcosta, or at base of costa |
| Abdominal tergites II-VI dark scaled with | basal silvery transverse bands with basolateral patches |
Characteristic Features
FEMALES - Head: proboscis dark scaled, vertex with broad dark scales and median stripe of white scales extending onto the interoccular space. Thorax: scutum with narrow dark scales and median stripe of similar white scales, a patch of broad white flat scales anterior to wing root. Wings: costa with basal silvery spot. Legs: hind legs femur with short anterior silvery line, tarsi 4 silvery on basal 0.6 dorsally, 5 all silvery. Abdomen: tergites with basal silvery transverse bands and separate basolateral triangular silvery patches of scales (Belkin 1962; Huang 1972; Tanaka et al. 1979).
