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Ouch … No, scratch it. All the many mosquito bites you've had this summer – those bites that are, for the most part, mostly around your ankles – are extremely painful. But they sting. And that's potentially bad news.
Ankle beakers are invaders, a variety of a non-native mosquito species – Aedes – that has only recently arrived in southern California. And these new insects in the neighborhood are potentially carriers of many diseases that were previously not common in the region.
Here's what you need to know about our new blood enemies:
What is Aedes?
Technically, two types of Aedes – identifiable by black and gray dots and longer tails (for mosquitoes) – have been identified in large numbers in southern California.
One, Aedes albopictus, commonly called the Asian tiger mosquito, is, as its name suggests, Asian. The other, Aedes aegyptai, would be from South America and bears a scary name: the mosquito of yellow fever. One or both versions of Aedes have been reported in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.
The Asian tiger appeared in southern California in the early 2000s, was briefly hunted and returned in 2011, according to published reports. The South American invader has been here for about five years, but the vector control agencies in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino have seen their populations grow rapidly over the past two years.
South American bitterness is generally considered more difficult to control than the Asian tiger and has the potential to spread more disease.
Why is a new mosquito important?
A couple of reasons.
First, so far, Southern California was the rare region of warm climate with relatively mellow mosquitoes.
The native mosquito of our region, Culex (usually called domestic mosquito), is not particularly aggressive. It only attacks humans when they can not get their favorite meal, the blood of birds.
Plus, Culex mosquitoes need a few inches of stagnant water – like a puddle of water in an abandoned pool or an overflow from your garden – to lay their eggs. This requirement allows local vector control departments to more easily develop Culex mosquito control strategies.
The invaders are different.
Aedes mosquitoes prefer human blood and bite repeatedly, especially just after sunrise. Plus, they do not need a lot of water (a spilled soda cork or the slightest hint of puddle of water can do the trick) to reproduce, which makes them makes it difficult to control. Some viable Aedes eggs have even been hung on the dry surface of a container, even after removal of all water, a level of biological tenacity that represents a new challenge for the pest control agencies. vector.
If Aedes stays around, the routine routine between mosquito cages and usual in Florida or Louisiana could also become the norm in Southern California.
The other problem is the disease.
Culex mosquitoes can carry the West Nile virus, a debilitating and sometimes deadly disease for humans. So far, California has recorded 62 human cases of West Nile in 2019. As of September 6, there were five in Los Angeles, one in Orange County and two in Riverside Counties and of San Bernardino, according to WestNile.ca.gov.
Aedes mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus, but they can also carry many other diseases – dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever, among others – that are not common in southern California. These tropical diseases have not yet appeared in the region, and there is no guarantee that they will be. But the emergence of Aedes greatly increases the chances.
Is climate change a factor?
Yes and no.
Southern California's vector control agencies report that Asian tiger and yellow fever mosquitoes have entered the region through trade, possibly with products shipped there. Climate change has not led Aedes here.
But hot weather causes more mosquitoes, and above-normal winter temperatures can prolong the mosquito breeding season. A warmer planet will be a planet with more mosquito bites.
This is a potentially dangerous fact.
A recent study by researchers from Georgetown, the University of Florida and Stanford, among others, examined how global warming would alter mosquito populations and how the spread of these insects would result in a corresponding spread of tropical diseases in non-tropical areas. These researchers predict that global warming will increase the number of tropical infections up to a billion a year. At least some of these infections seem to hit southern California residents.
So, how can we kill these suckers?
The regional war against mosquitoes is usually based on three things. 1. Public education (encouraging people to empty stagnant water from their gardens and pools, etc.). 2. Spray deadly mosquito spray. 3. Discard "mosquito" (Gambusia affinis) in standing water to eliminate mosquito eggs.
On a personal level, residents of Southern California found that they had fewer bites by keeping the screens closed and wearing an EPA approved insect repellent.
But the fight to eradicate Aedes could include something else – genetic warfare.
In Brazil, three years ago, insect experts from the World Health Organization released sterile and genetically modified insects to reduce the growth of yellow fever mosquitoes. In Fresno two years ago, a subsidiary of the company that runs Google has released some 20 million stale male mosquitoes to eliminate another mosquito population from yellow fever. Both of these programs helped reduce local mosquito populations.
Earlier this summer, insect experts began releasing male sterile Asian tiger mosquitoes in southern El Monte and male sterile yellow fever mosquitoes in parts of eastern Los Angeles to reduce the number of insects. of these insects in these areas. It is unclear whether these strategies will be effective or affordable, but it is a potential sign for the future.
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