Global distrubution of Aedes aegypti mosquito

The global distribution of epidemic dengue and the principal vector mosquito Aedes

New genome sequence to provide insight into tiger mosquito and how deadly diseases are transmitted to humans

Pathogens and Global Health journal has just published details of the first draft genome sequence of Aedes albopictus, commonly known as the tiger mosquito and responsible for transmitting several deadly diseases to humans, such as dengue and chikungunya, potentially offering hope to millions around the world.

"This sequencing… offers great hope to our understanding of the mosquito and our ability to control it, potentially saving millions of lives in many areas of the world," -- Professor Andrea Crisanti, Editor-in-Chief of Pathogens and Global Health.

Big data battles small insect: Terabytes of mosquito pictures help enhance mosquito netting

Researchers at the University of Warwick's School of Engineering are using imaging technologies, that are normally applied to automotive engines and sprays, to image thousands of mosquitoes to help develop better netting and physical protection against the malaria spreading insect.

The University of Warwick engineers, David Towers, Natalia Angarita and Catherine Towers, are helping entomologist colleagues at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Philip McCall and Josie Parker, explore the best insecticide treatment and physical design of the protection for sleeping people in areas where mosquitoes are a problem.

In observing how mosquitoes engage with insecticide treated barriers such as netting, researchers have in the past mainly relied on recording just the final landing location, which does not give a full picture of how they approach and handle the protective barriers.

Mating with the wrong insect may cut yellow fever mosquito populations

Asian tiger mosquitoes can drive down yellow fever mosquito populations when the female chooses the wrong male with which to mate, UF/IFAS scientists say. Both insects transmit chikungunya and dengue, dangerous diseases affecting millions of people worldwide.

In a study published this month in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, Post-doctoral Researcher Irka Bargielowski led a team of scientists that conducted field studies in Houston, Texas; Caracas, Venezuela; Franceville, Gabon and Singapore, Malaysia.

They studied mating between the Asian tiger and yellow fever mosquitoes and found that it in the wild, avoidance mechanisms evolved in yellow fever mosquitoes, Bargielowski said. That finding may help scientists predict population changes of the two mosquito populations.

Mosquito-repelling chemicals identified in traditional sweetgrass

BOSTON, Aug. 17, 2015 --Native North Americans have long adorned themselves and their homes with fragrant sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), a native plant used in traditional medicine, to repel biting insects, and mosquitoes in particular. Now, researchers report that they have identified the compounds in sweetgrass that keep these bugs at bay.

The team will describe their approach in one of more than 9,000 presentations at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, taking place here through Thursday.

Mosquitoes and other insects remain a pesky part of everyday life in many parts of the world, and their bites are linked to a range of serious diseases, such as malaria. To add to the arsenal of insect repellents, Charles Cantrell, Ph.D., investigates the components of plants used in traditional therapies. "We found that in our search for new insect repellents, folk remedies have provided good leads."

Sweetgrass is a meadow grass that is a native to northern climates, Cantrell says. "It gives off a sweet aroma that repels mosquitoes."

Fighting mosquito resistance to insecticides

Controlling mosquitoes that carry human diseases is a global health challenge as their ability to resist insecticides now threatens efforts to prevent epidemics. Scientists from the CNRS, IRD, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble and Institut Pasteur in French Guiana have identified new genetic markers for mosquito resistance to insecticides, which could improve its detection in the field. This work was published in Genome Research on 23 July 2015.

The ability of mosquitoes to resist insecticides represents a serious threat to the prevention of diseases such as malaria, dengue and Chikungunya. The detection and monitoring of the resistances developed by natural mosquito populations will be essential to enabling their management in the field for as long as there are no alternatives to the use of insecticides.