A Guide to Mosquitoes of Australia

A GUIDE TO

MOSQUITOES

OF AUSTRALIA

CAMERON WEBB, STEPHEN DOGGETT

AND RICHARD RUSSELL

© Dr Cameron Webb, Mr Stephen Doggett and Prof. Richard Russell 2016

All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO Publishing for all permission requests.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Webb, Cameron E., author.

A guide to mosquitoes of Australia / Cameron E Webb,

Stephen L Doggett, Richard C Russell.

9780643100305 (paperback)

9780643104464 (epdf)

9780643104471 (epub)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Mosquitoes – Australia.

Mosquitoes – Australia – Identification.

Mosquitoes – Control – Australia.

Mosquitoes as carriers of disease – Australia.

Doggett, Stephen L., author.

Russell, Richard Charles, author.

595.7720994

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Front cover (main): One of the most distinctive of the Australian mosquitoes, Coquillettidia xanthogaster

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Contents

About the authors

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Mosquito biology

Habitats

Nuisance-biting and public health risks of mosquitoes

Controlling mosquitoes around the home

How to collect, rear and photograph mosquitoes

Personal protection measures

Guide to mosquito species

Aedeomyia venustipes (Skuse) 1889

Aedes aculeatus (Theobald) 1903

Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) 1762

Aedes alboannulatus (Macquart) 1850

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) 1895

Aedes alboscutellatus (Theobald) 1905

Aedes alternans (Westwood) 1836

Aedes aurantius aurantius (Theobald) 1907

Aedes australis (Erichson) 1842

Aedes bancroftianus Edwards 1921

Aedes burpengaryensis (Theobald) 1905

Aedes camptorhynchus (Thomson) 1869

Aedes clelandi (Taylor) 1914

Aedes daliensis (Taylor) 1916

Aedes flavifrons (Skuse) 1889

Aedes gahnicola Marks 1947

Aedes hesperonotius Marks 1959

Aedes imperfectus Dobrotworsky 1963

Aedes imprimens (Walker) 1860

Aedes kochi (Donitz) 1901

Aedes lineatopennis (Ludlow) 1905

Aedes mallochi Taylor 1944

Aedes multiplex (Theobald) 1903

Aedes nivalis Edwards 1926

Aedes normanensis (Taylor)1915

Aedes notoscriptus (Skuse) 1889

Aedes palmarum Edwards 1924

Aedes procax (Skuse) 1889

Aedes quasirubithorax (Theobald) 1910

Aedes rubrithorax (Macquart) 1850

Aedes rupestris Dobrotworsky 1959

Aedes sagax (Skuse) 1889

Aedes scutellaris (Walker) 1858

Aedes subbasalis Dobrotworsky 1963

Aedes theobaldi (Taylor) 1914

Aedes tremulus (Theobald) 1903

Aedes vigilax (Skuse) 1889

Aedes vittiger (Skuse) 1889

Aedes Marks No. 51

Anopheles amictus Edwards 1921

Anopheles annulipes Walker 1856

Anopheles atratipes Skuse 1889

Anopheles bancroftii Giles 1902

Anopheles farauti Laveran 1902

Bironella simmondsi Tenorio 1977

Coquillettidia species near crassipes Marks 1962

Coquillettidia linealis (Skuse) 1889

Coquillettidia species near linealis

Coquillettidia variegata (Dobrotworsky) 1963

Coquillettidia xanthogaster (Edwards) 1924

Culex annulirostris Skuse 1889

Culex australicus Dobrotworsky & Drummond 1953

Culex bitaeniorhynchus Giles 1901

Culex cubiculi Marks 1989

Culex edwardsi Barraud 1923

Culex gelidus Theobald 1901

Culex globocoxitus Dobrotworsky 1953

Culex hilli Edwards 1922

Culex molestus Forskål 1775

Culex orbostiensis Dobrotworsky 1958

Culex postspiraculosis Lee 1944

Culex pullus Theobald 1905

Culex quinquefasciatus Say 1823

Culex sitiens Wiedemann 1828

Culex squamosus (Taylor) 1914

Culex Marks No. 32

Culiseta antipodea Dobrotworsky 1963

Hodgesia cairnsensis Taylor 1919

Lutzia halifaxii (Theobald) 1903

Mansonia septempunctata Theobald 1905

Mansonia uniformis (Theobald) 1901

Mimomyia elegans (Taylor) 1914

Toxorhynchites speciosus (Skuse) 1889

Tripteroides atripes (Skuse) 1889

Tripteroides magnesianus (Edwards) 1924

Uranotaenia albosternopleura Peters 1963

Uranotaenia lateralis Ludlow 1905

Verrallina carmenti (Edwards) 1924

Verrallina funerea (Theobald) 1903

Verrallina lineata (Taylor) 1914

Verrallina Marks No. 52

Glossary

Further reading

Index

About the authors

Cameron Webb is a Medical Entomologist at The University of Sydney and NSW Health Pathology. He received his PhD in 2001 and his research has been widely published in the scientific literature and presented at local and international scientific conferences. He specialises in the management of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease risk associated with natural, constructed and rehabilitated wetlands.

Stephen Doggett is the Manager of the Department of Medical Entomology at Westmead Hospital and the NSW Arbovirus Surveillance Program. He has published material about ticks and tick-borne diseases, mosquito surveillance, mosquito-borne diseases, biological control, vector competence, bird mites and bed bugs. Stephen is an internationally awarded insect photographer, with his images appearing in numerous text books, journals, newspapers and other publications.

Richard Russell, now retired as the Professor of Medical Entomology at The University of Sydney, continues there officially as an Honorary Professor. He is author/co-author of several mosquito monographs, including the 12 volume Culicidae of the Australasian Region, A Colour Photo Atlas of Mosquitoes of South-eastern Australia and Mosquitoes and Mosquito Borne Disease in South-eastern Australia. He has published over 400 scientific papers and consultancy reports, served as subject editor for Journal of Medical Entomology, and on editorial boards for Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases and Australian Journal of Entomology. In 2009 he received the ‘Distinguished Achievement Award’ for ‘Outstanding Accomplishment in Vector Ecology’ from the International Society for Vector Ecology.

Preface

There is little doubt that mosquitoes are considered one of the most annoying animals on the planet. They might also be considered the deadliest, because the disease-causing organisms (pathogens) they carry infect hundreds of millions of people every year and kill several million. However, despite their reputation, mosquitoes are a fascinating group of insects. They are incredibly diverse and vary greatly in their habitat preferences and have evolved unique adaptations that have changed their appearance over the millennia. While the battle against them continues to reduce the burden of mosquito-borne diseases, there are still many gaps to fill in our understanding of mosquitoes and their place in local ecosystems.

Australia supports a diverse mosquito fauna. At any point in summer, you’re rarely more than a few metres away from a mosquito. They are everywhere. They may be annoying, but they can also be fascinating and beautiful. We wonder at the ability of wildlife to adapt to the most specialised of ecological niches; why should mosquitoes be any different? There are mosquitoes adapted to life in highly saline coastal rock pools, snow-melt streams in our alpine regions and almost every aquatic habitat in between, from pristine wetlands to polluted stormwater drains. It is worth remembering that the majority of mosquitoes in Australian are native species and a natural component of our local ecosystems, just as much as koalas, kangaroos, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Some of our local mosquitoes live in highly specialised niches and, as such, are found in such small numbers that they escape the attention of all but the most diligent entomologists. Unfortunately, there are some mosquitoes that naturally occur in large numbers every summer and their nuisance-biting can have a substantial adverse impact on communities. The nuisance (pest) impacts can be significant, but the public health (disease) risks associated with some of Australia’s mosquitoes are also a serious concern.

Although Australia may be currently free of some of the most serious mosquito-borne diseases (such as malaria and lymphatic filariasis), there are still several local mosquito-borne pathogens that are active every year. Thousands of cases of disease caused by Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus are reported each year, there is annual activity of dengue viruses in Far North Queensland, Japanese encephalitis virus is occasionally reported from the Torres Strait, and the threat posed by the potentially fatal Murray Valley encephalitis virus rises following major flooding events that boost mosquito and bird populations in our riverine regions. Our domestic animals are not immune either, with dog heartworm and many other disease-causing organisms also transmitted by mosquitoes.

Notwithstanding these home-grown risks, there is also a constant threat of exotic pathogens. Australians love to travel and there is a steady increase in the numbers of travellers returning home with a mosquito-borne disease. Sometimes these travellers inadvertently bring exotic mosquitoes home with them. This is just one downside of globalisation. Humans have always moved mosquitoes and mosquito-borne pathogens around the world but, with cheap and rapid international travel, there is an increasing risk that exotic pathogens such as chikungunya virus and Zika virus could find their way into Australia. With increasing activity of these viruses in many of our neighbouring regions, particularly our favourite holiday destinations, these risks are only getting greater.

It is not only the risk of pathogen introduction that is a concern. The introduction of exotic mosquito species will be a critical factor that will in turn influence the likelihood of some of these exotic viruses becoming established in our country. The discovery of a widespread infestation of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in the Torres Strait during 2005 has highlighted these risks. This mosquito is a global traveller and has been spread to many tropical and temperate regions of the world with the movement of humans and their belongings. Perhaps it is a question of when, not if, this or other exotic mosquitoes find their way to Australian backyards.

Notwithstanding the mosquitoes of public health importance, there is still much to unravel with regard to the role mosquitoes play in our local ecosystems. What exactly are mosquitoes good for, if anything? We know that a range of animal species will eat mosquitoes but the question of exactly how important mosquitoes are to these animals remains largely unanswered. Overseas studies have shown that some mosquitoes may play a role in pollination. The aquatic immature stages of mosquitoes may also help with the recycling of nutrients. Could some mosquitoes play an important role in the Australian ecosystem? Understanding how mosquitoes contribute to the local ecosystem has been afforded a relative low priority because researchers are justifiably concentrating on reducing pest and public health risks associated with local mosquitoes.

The aim of this book is not to provide a comprehensive document on all aspects of mosquito biology and control. Nor is it designed to replace the many highly technical taxonomic resources already available. What we’ve presented here is a pictorial guide to some of the most important, most interesting and, dare we say, most beautiful mosquito species in Australia. Our aim is to highlight the diversity of Australia’s mosquito fauna and the places in which they are found.

Information is provided with the aim to help better the understanding of the biology and ecology of these mosquitoes, and the risks associated with mosquito-borne disease. It is hoped that the information shared here will help to reduce the adverse impacts on Australian families caused by mosquitoes. We provide advice on how to avoid mosquito bites and how to minimise mosquito breeding around the home.

Cameron Webb, Stephen Doggett and Richard Russell

One of Australia’s most common freshwater mosquitoes, Culex australicus.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank many people who provided assistance in compiling this book.

We are grateful to many of our colleagues in the field of medical entomology from around Australia for their generosity in providing or assisting in the collection of various mosquito species, as well as sharing their expertise on mosquitoes from their local region over many years. These people include: Scott Ritchie and Mick Townsend from James Cook University; Peter Whelan, Nina Kurucz, Bill Pettit and Allan Warchot from NT Health; Craig Williams and Stephen Fricker from the University of South Australia; Mike Lindsay, Peter Neville and Sue Harrington from WA Health (for providing specimens of Culex globocoxitus); Michaela Hobby and staff from SA Health (for providing specimens of Aedes clelandi); Cheryl Johansen and Jay Nicholson from University of Western Australia; Mike Muller and Martin Shivas from Brisbane City Council; Brian Montgomery and Cassie Jansen from Queensland Health: Nigel Beebe from University of Queensland; and Stacey Lynch from Victoria Health.

Special thanks to Andrew van den Hurk and Sonja Hall-Mendelin from Queensland Health for assistance in photographing live specimens of Aedes albopictus and Aedes scutellaris.

Stephen Francis and Robert Cooper from the Australian Army Malaria Research Unit provided live samples of Anopheles farauti and gave assistance with insect repellent recommendations.

Thanks to Jodi Rawley from the Australian Museum (frog feeding mosquito photo), Craig Williams from University of South Australia (Aedes camptorhynchus habitats), Mike Lindsay from WA Health (Western Australia flood plain habitats) and Jared Dever from Orange County Vector Control District, California (Aedes notoscriptus on title page) for their generosity in providing additional photographs for use in this book.

Matthew Watts from Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Public Health and University of Sydney provided assistance in the collection of mosquitoes from north Queensland.

Our colleagues in the Department of Medical Entomology, Pathology West – ICPMR Westmead, John Haniotis, Merilyn Geary, Cheryl Toi and Karen Willems, for their continued support. Special thanks to John Clancy for assistance in the identification of many specimens and comments on the text.

Most of the mosquitoes photographed for this book were collected as part of the New South Wales Arbovirus Surveillance and Monitoring Program, which is funded by the NSW Ministry of Health. Many mosquitoes were also collected as part of the mosquito monitoring programs undertaken by the Department of Medical Entomology for the Sydney Olympic Park Authority and Hunter Local Land Services.

We thank National Parks and Wildlife Service for providing permits for the collection of mosquitoes in Kosciusko National Park.

Many of the insights into the biology and habitats of mosquitoes in Australia contained within this book would not have been possible without the collective work of members of the Mosquito Control Association of Australia [http://www.mcaa.org.au].

Many thanks to Annette Webb for providing useful comments on the manuscript.

Finally, we would particularly like to thank Lauren Webb, John Manger, Tracey Millen and all the staff of CSIRO Publishing for their patience and assistance.

Introduction

The insects we refer to as mosquitoes have been called many different names, often because little distinction was made between mosquitoes and other human-biting flying insects. The name ‘mosquito’ is thought to have first gained widespread use in the 1500s in North America and is derived from the Spanish word musketas typically used to describe such insects.

There are thousands of mosquito species around the world, and around 300 different species in the Australasian region. Each mosquito has its own specialised biology and unique ecology, and risk it imposes to the health of the community. Much of the research carried out into Australia’s mosquito fauna to date has concentrated on pest biting mosquitoes and those that transmit diseases to humans, domesticated animals or wildlife. The most important mosquitoes, based on their abundance or their public health significance, belong to the genera Aedes, Anopheles, Coquillettidia, Culex, Mansonia and Verrallina. The individual species that cause serious pest or public health concerns actually make up a relatively small proportion of Australia’s mosquito fauna.

There is little known of how much impact mosquitoes had on Indigenous Australians before European settlement. Native plant species are often described as being used as traditional medicines by our Indigenous people, and many of these were used for the treatment or prevention of insect bites. There is often reference to remedies for biting insects in Indigenous art from northern Australia and the Torres Strait. There is no doubt that our Indigenous population came into contact with nuisance-biting mosquitoes, particularly in coastal environments, and the use of aromatic plants in fires, as well as in shelters and bedding, are likely to have been used to repel mosquitoes.

Notes on local mosquitoes, particularly their abundance and nuisance-biting, were recorded by early European explorers. Even Joseph Banks reported an abundance of mosquitoes during his exploration of the north-east coast of Australia in 1770. Restless nights and irritations resulting from ‘swarms of mosquitoes’ are commonly reported in journals over the years following European settlement.

The first scientific studies of Australia’s mosquito fauna were primarily concerned with documenting and describing the local species. During this early period of research, the majority of work was actually undertaken overseas using specimens collected during the exploration of Australia and then returned to Europe. The first Australian mosquito known to be described was Aedes alternans (a species now commonly known as the Hexham Grey Mosquito) by Professor J.O. Westwood at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Over the next 100 years, a