Fort Pierce - Thursday March 23, 2023: Another new mosquito species has made its way across the tropics into Florida, making a permanent home in at least three counties. Scientists are concerned because of the rate of new mosquitoes arriving in Florida and the potential for them to transmit mosquito-borne diseases.
A mosquito known only by its scientific name, Culex
, is the latest to establish in the Sunshine State, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology today by faculty at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (UF/IFAS FMEL).
This species was first discovered in Miami-Dade County in 2018 by UF/IFAS faculty while they hunted for other nonnative mosquitoes. Since then, thriving populations have been recorded and have established in Miami-Dade, Collier and Lee counties. Scientists are concerned there hasn’t been enough research on the species and their potential disease risk.
For more information, please see attached news release. For additional photo assets and video clip, please use this link: FMEL - Dr Reeves New Mosquito Species