''Aedes'' (also known as the tiger mosquito) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

es originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

s except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''

Aedes albopictus ''Aedes albopictus'' (synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stegomyia albopicta''), from the mosquito (Culicidae) family (biology), family, also known as the (Asian) tiger mosquito or forest mosquito, is a mosquito native to the tropical and Subtropics ...

'', a particularly

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

, was spread to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in the 1980s, by the used-tire trade. It was first described and named by German entomologist

Johann Wilhelm Meigen Johann Wilhelm Meigen (3 May 1764 – 11 July 1845) was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera. Life Early years Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margare ...

in 1818; the generic name comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

(), meaning 'unpleasant' or 'odious'. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

for ''Aedes'' is '' Aedes cinereus''..

Systematics and phylogeny

The genus was named by

in 1818. The generic name comes from the Ancient Greek , , meaning 'unpleasant' or 'odious'. As historically defined, the genus contains more than 950

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

(see the list of ''Aedes'' species). The genus has been divided into several

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

(''Aedes'', '' Diceromyia'', '' Finlaya'', ''Stegomyia'', etc.), most of which have been recently treated by some authorities as full genera. The classification was revised in 2009.

Characteristics

''Aedes'' mosquitoes are visually distinctive because they have noticeable black and white markings on their bodies and legs. Unlike most other mosquitoes, they are active and bite only during the daytime. The peak biting periods are early in the morning and in the evening before dusk.

As disease vectors

Members of the genus ''Aedes'' are known vectors for numerous viral infections, including dengue fever, yellow fever, the Zika virus, and chikungunya, which are transmitted by species in the subgenus '' Stegomyia'' such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Infections with these viruses are typically accompanied by a fever, and in some cases, encephalitis, which can lead to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. A

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

to provide protection from yellow fever exists, and measures to prevent mosquito bites include

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

s such as DDT, mosquito traps, insect repellents, mosquito nets, and pest control using genetically modified insects. In

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

, the species '' Aedes polynesiensis'' is responsible for the transmission of human lymphatic filariasis. ''Aedes'' can be detected and monitored by ovitraps.

Sequencing

The genome of the yellow fever mosquito (''

Aedes aegypti ''Aedes aegypti'' ( or from Greek 'hateful' and from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito or yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that spreads diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, malar ...

'') was sequenced by the Broad Institute and the Institute for Genomic Research. The initial assembly was released in August 2005; a draft sequence of the genome and preliminary analysis was published in June 2007. The annotated genome is available at VectorBase. An updated and improved version of the ''Aedes aegypti'' genome was released in 2018.

References

External links