FL: New invasive mosquito species found in Miami-Dade Broward

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.local10.com/news/local/...-mosquito-species-found-in-miami-dade-county/

New invasive mosquito species found in Miami-Dade Broward
Amanda Batchelor, Managing Editor
Published: February 9, 2021, 11:13 am
Updated: February 9, 2021, 11:21 am

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Officials from Miami-Dade County confirmed Tuesday that a new invasive mosquito species called Aedes scapularis has established a presence in the area.

Researchers say it has also turned up in Broward County.

“The reporting of the Aedes scapularis can be of great medical and veterinary importance, as these mosquitoes are vectors of disease such as yellow fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis and dog heartworm,” Research Director Chalmers Vasquez said in a statement. “This also highlights the importance of South Florida as the point of entry of invasive species that might eventually lead to outbreaks of mosquito-transmitted diseases in our population.”...

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Establishment of Aedes (Ochlerotatus) scapularis (Diptera: Culicidae) in Mainland Florida, With Notes on the Ochlerotatus Group in the United States

23 November 2020

Abstract

Aedes scapularis (Rondani), a widespread neotropical vector mosquito species, has been included in the mosquito fauna of Florida on the basis of just three larval specimens that were collected in the middle Florida Keys in 1945. Here, we report numerous recent collections of immature and adult Ae. scapularis from multiple locations in two counties of southern Florida.

These specimens represent the first records of Ae. scapularis from mainland Florida and the first records of the species in the state since the initial detection of the species 75 yr ago. Collections of both larvae and adults across several years indicate that Ae. scapularis is now established in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

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