Tiger Mosquito

The tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is a nematoceran fly belonging to the family Culicidae. It is characterised by its black colouring with white markings on the thorax and abdomen, legs banded black and white, and a conspicuous central white longitudinal line on the thorax and head. It is between about 5 and 10 mm long. As in other mosquito species, the female has a fine, elongated trunk, the proboscis, which she uses like a stylet to pierce the skin and draw blood from vertebrates, especially mammals and birds, which she uses as protein for the development of her eggs. She uses small filaments (palps) at the sides of the proboscis to detect the carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from the animals, humans included, that she stalks. In biting she uses an anticoagulant substance to draw and store her host's blood. The males of the species, as in other mosquitoes, feed on nectar. It is included on the list of 100 of the world's worst invasive alien species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.