''Culex annulirostris'', commonly known as the common banded mosquito, is an insect native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It is regarded as a serious pest species throughout its range. Frederick Askew Skuse described the species in 1889 from specimens collected in the Blue Mountains and Berowra. The species name is derived from the Latin words ''annulus'' "ring" and ''rostrum'' "bill". The female is a moderate-sized brown to dark brown mosquito, with a single pale prominent broad band on the middle third of its

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

, and similar bands on its legs. It closely resembles the female of the related '' Cx. sitiens''. The latter species has a narrower band on its proboscis. Breeding takes place anywhere there is standing water, from swamps and ponds to all kinds of man-made puddles—irrigation channels, bamboo stumps, cacao shells, the bottoms of canoes. The water can be clean or polluted, in sun or shade, and fresh or brackish. ''Culex annulirostris'' mosquitoes are active between spring and late autumn. During this time they appear most commonly at dusk, though can also be active during the day and indoors. They can travel 5–10 km from their place of birth and feed on mammals and birds. Only the female feeds on blood as it needs to consume protein to help in reproducing. The male drinks nectar. It is an important vector for a number of

arbovirus Arbovirus is an informal name for any virus that is Transmission (medicine), transmitted by arthropod Vector (epidemiology), vectors. The term ''arbovirus'' is a portmanteau word (''ar''thropod-''bo''rne ''virus''). ''Tibovirus'' (''ti''ck-''bo ...

es, including

Murray Valley encephalitis virus Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) is a zoonotic flavivirus endemic to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. It is the causal agent of Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE; previously known as Australian encephalitis or Australian X disease). ...

Ross River virus Ross River virus (RRV) is a small encapsulated single-strand RNA '' Alphavirus'' endemic to Australia, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the South Pacific. It is responsible for a type of mosquito-borne, non-lethal but extremely debilitati ...

Barmah Forest virus Barmah Forest virus is an RNA virus in the genus ''Alphavirus''. The virus is named after the Barmah Forest in the northern Victoria region of Australia, where it was first isolated in 1974. It is passed to vertebrate hosts almost exclusively by ...

, Kunjin virus and

Japanese encephalitis Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an infection of the brain caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). While most infections result in little or no symptoms, occasional inflammation of the brain occurs. In these cases, symptoms may include he ...

, as well as dog heartworm and the roundworm ''

Wuchereria bancrofti ''Wuchereria bancrofti'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, together with ''Brugia malayi'' and '' B. timori'', that infect the lymphati ...

'' in New Guinea. There is evidence it carries

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by '' Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3007092 annulirostris Insect vectors of human pathogens Insects described in 1889