Scientific name: Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894)

Classification: Phylum: Arthropoda. Class: Insecta. Order: Diptera. Family: Culicidae

Origin: Introduced

Status: Common in moist vegetated area and urban habitats

Distribution: All the main islands

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This mosquito was introduced to Hawai`i from Asia in the 1890s and has spread rapidly throughout the Hawaiian chain. It is called the forest day mosquito because the females only feed on blood during the day. If you see or hear a mosquito at night, it is most likely another species, the "night biting mosquito"! Mosquitoes breed in containers with water left out in the open.

Because of the Hawaiian dengue epidemic of 2001, this mosquito has now been implicated as the vector of dengue in Hawai`i. To help control the disease and the spread of this mosquito, everyone is encouraged to dump out any standing water you may have on your property and check ponds and pools for any wrigglers (the immature stages of this mosquito).