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  Suffolk County Vector Control
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Other Information Sources
  American Mosquito Control Assoc
  CDC - Mosquito Borne Diseases
  Cornell - West Nile Virus
  Cornell Extention Pesticide
  CT Mosquito Management
  NYS Dept ofHealth Pests Pesticides
  Pesticide Registration Resources
  NYS Dept Health to: NY Health Dept - Pesticides
  State Univ. of NJ at Rutgers
  Virginia Mosquito Control Assoc
  Florida - Mosquito Control
  Harvard - Mosquito Borne Viruses
  USGS - West Nile Virus

Mosquito Biology

Forty-nine native species and one recently introduced species of mosquitoes have been observed in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, and are assumed to be resident in 2004. Fifteen of these species impact the quality of life or are disease vectors. Following is a discussion of mosquito:

Reproduction

Development

Feeding

Transmission of Disease

Species of Mosquito in Suffolk County

For detailed information see Task 3 - Literature Review (Book1)

REPRODUCTION
One way to classify mosquitoes is by their mode of reproduction. Mosquitoes that breed in a similar manner frequently have other similarities, such as their larval lifestyles. Because control measures are best directed at the larval stage these groupings can have practical applications.

Some species reproduce once a year (univoltine), while others lay eggs that hatch at various times throughout the year (multivoltine). All mosquitoes require damp to wet conditions to lay their eggs. Some mosquitoes require that their eggs remain in water, whereas, desiccation tolerant mosquitoes require that their eggs dry out prior to further development. Desiccation tolerant mosquitoes tend to hatch in “broods,” as environmental conditions result in eggs developing at approximately the same time. Desiccation intolerant mosquitoes may not hatch at one discrete time, but rather in a more diffuse manner. Some mosquitoes need organically polluted water as breeding sites, and others can tolerate or need salt water. Some mosquitoes overwinter as adults, but others overwinter as eggs or larvae.

 

DEVELOPMENT
All mosquitoes follow the same developmental pattern. After hatching from an egg, each individual lives in an aquatic environment as an air-breathing larva, and undergoes metamorphosis through four stages (instars) prior to becoming a non-feeding pupa. After the pupal stage, a fully developed adult emerges.


Mosquito Life Cycle (from a publication of the New York City Department of Health)

FEEDING
Males and females tend to feed on plant nectars to fulfill daily energy needs; however, in almost all mosquito species the female requires a blood meal for her eggs to mature. Most species have general preferences of prey for blood (such as warm or cold-blooded animals), and some preferences are quite specific (so much so that Anopheles gambiae, the primary African vector of malaria, almost exclusively feeds on people).



TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE
Female mosquitoes can transmit diseases to humans when they bite to obtain a blood meal. Mosquitoes are considered to be disease vectors because they can transmit diseases, via a blood meal, from an infected host to a human target. The first blood meal transmits the disease-bearing organism to the mosquito (usually, the mosquito is not affected by the disease), and the second results in its transfer to a new organism. Mosquitoes use secretions of various kinds to prevent blood clotting and make the target organism less aware of a bite and the feeding process. Diseases are transmitted in the injected secretions. Thus, diseases can only be spread when a mosquito feeds for a second time. Particular diseases are transmitted by various aspects of the feeding process, in that some viruses or parasites are associated with secretions released early in the meal, and others are associated with secretions released at other stages.

Birds and other animals are the primary carriers of arboviruses (viral diseases transmitted by arthropods), such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) or West Nile virus (WNV), while humans are the primary carriers of arboviruses, such as yellow fever and malaria. The arbovirus is transferred from a primary carrier or host (i.e., birds or humans) to the mosquito and, finally, it is transferred to the recipient or terminal host (i.e., humans). In this chain of events the mosquito is often referred to as the bridge vector. The behavior of particular mosquitoes determines their capacity as vectors, and their ability to upset human lifestyles through aggressive biting. In addition, their developmental biology also determines how they can be controlled.

 

 

 
 
 
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