An insidious, new mosquito has entered Utah, apparently imported from China in a shipment of floral supplies.
Experts say this new species is an aggressive biter and a potential carrier of some dangerous diseases.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates has the story.
More Info
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It is likely that used tires imported to Houston, Texas, from Japan in 1985 brought
tiger mosquitoes to the U.S.
- The tiger mosquito does best in residential areas where shade and
water-holding containers are common.
- Outdoor containers are greatly preferred for laying eggs over
indoor containers, and outdoor containers in the shade are preferred over those in full sunlight.
- Adult tiger mosquitoes seldom move more than 100 yards from
the containers they were born in.
- Adult tiger mosquitoes are medium sized, black in color with distinctive white stripes.
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Our native mosquitoes mostly lay their eggs in the wetlands.
But this new species - the Asian Tiger Mosquito - sets up home in old tires, a flower pot on your patio deck, any container with a small amount of stagnant water.
This is not what Utah wanted to see.
West of the Mississippi, the Asian Tiger Mosquito has only officially been reported in one other western state, and that was just three weeks ago.
As viewed in the microscope, the mosquito has a distinctive black body with white stripes.
Though not always, it's a potential carrier of encephalitis, dengue fever, yellow fever, and heartworm-- which is life threatening for dogs.
The Asian Tiger is more aggresssive than our native species.
KENNETH MINSON, SOUTH SALT LAKE COUNTY MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT: "A LOT OF TIMES YOU WILL LOOK DOWN AND THE MOSQUITO IS FULL OF BLOOD AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN AWARE YOU'VE BEEN BITTEN. THIS MOSQUITO WILL HURT YOU. YOU'LL KNOW YOU'VE BEEN BITTEN BY THIS MOSQUITO."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "SOUTH SALT LAKE MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISCOVERED OUR FIRST-TIME VISITOR IN A SHIPMENT OF FLORAL BAMBOO STOCKS FROM CHINA. IT'S NOT THE BAMBOO, BUT THE SHIPPING WATER IT CAME IN."
KEN MINSON: "WE GOT A PHONE CALL FROM ONE OF OUR SUPPLIERS IN OUR AREA. HE WAS BEING EATEN BY THE MOSQUITOES. WE WENT OVER AND INVESTIGATED AND FOUND MOSQUITO LARVAE AND EMERGING ADULTS IN THESE TRAYS CONTAINING THE BAMBOO."
Now that it's here, the Asian Tiger biter will lay its eggs in old water containers in your backyard. So get rid of old pots or make sure you routinely pour out any collected water.
Like the Tree Hole Mosquito, the Asian Tiger variety also lays its eggs in hard-to-get-at holes in trees.
KENNETH MINSON: "THEY SEEM TO BE MORE PRONE TO LIKE DARK AREAS AS OPPOSED TO A LOT OF OUR MOSQUITOES WHICH DON'T SEEM TO CARE. IF YOU HAVE OBVIOUS TREE HOLES IN YOUR TREES, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT IT AND DO THE BEST TO TREAT THEM."
Kenneth Minson will now ship one of the mosquitoes to the Centers for Disease Control
to confirm his findings, and to add Utah to the official list for the Asian Tiger species.
