The Aedes Mosquito

The Aedes mosquito is formally known as Aedes aegypti, but commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, the Asian tiger mosquito or the Egyptian mosquito. It is fairly easy to recognize if you are in tropical and subtropical territories where they live because they are speckled. Their legs have black-white-black strips and their bodies are black and grey with white spots.

The Aedes Mosquito

Aedes comes from Africa as its name suggests, but it is now prevalent in many tropical and subtropical countries around the world, including parts of Latin America, India, South-east Asia, Africa and Australasia.

The Aedes female mosquito, in common with all female mosquitoes, is the only one that needs a blood meal. She is attracted to mammalian hosts by ammonia, carbon dioxide, octenol and lactic acid, all of which are substances exuded by the human body. An infectious Aedes female can spread  dengue and yellow fevers and Chikungunya to its victims.

This mosquito avoids direct sunlight. It prefers warmth but shade, so be especially careful at dawn and dusk if you are going to countries where it exists. Having said that, the Aedes will occupy a house or a lavatory and bite at any time of the day or night.

The adult female yellow fever mosquito likes to lay its eggs in stagnant water, which can be a problem to sloppy householders. You can vastly reduce the insect's breeding grounds by clearing out blocked gutters, not over watering flowers in pots, clearing up garden refuse, not storing junk in the open (especially old tyres) and installing a fountain in your fish pond, although many fish will eat mosquito larvae anyway.

If you go on holiday where Aedes lives and carries infectious diseases, take precautions. Wear loose-fitting long sleeves and long trousers unless you are on the beach (mosquitoes do not like salt water) or in the full glare of the sun. In the morning and the evening, you should apply some kind of mosquito repellent, perhaps containing DEET, although no mosquitoes like the lemon smell of citronella either.

If you do not like the idea of applying DEET directly onto your skin (and who would blame you?), put it on your clothing, because Aedes, like most mosquitoes, can get you through any tight-fitting clothing. Permethrin is a good alternative to DEET.

The diseases that Aedes mosquitoes can transmit are bad enough, but Anopheles is a far more deadly adversary. However, who wants Chikungunya, dengue fever or yellow fever anyway? This is a mosquito to be treated as a serious threat to your health, even though it does not bear the malaria virus.

If you do get bitten by Aedes where it is known to carry disease, look out for the following traits (they may come up a week or more after the bite):

Dengue Fever: there is no vaccine. It shows up as a rash with flu-like symptoms of fever, headache, muscle pain and fatigue. There are five types of dengue and you can only get each type once, but getting subsequent strains increases your chances of serious consequences.

Chikungunya Disease: produces a fever and joint pain similar to arthritis. This can go on for up to two years.

Yellow Fever: starts with a fever and a feeling of nausea. This subsides after a few days and the victim may start feeling well. However, the liver is being attacked and symptoms of jaundice will ensue. Yellow fever is a serious killer.

Try using an indoor bug zapper (the tennis raquet type) to clear your bedroom or tent before retiring or keep an elctric bug zapper close at hand if you spend time outside, say, in the garden, hunting or fishing.