Mosquitoes in West

Hawaii
Skyla D. Graig-Murray
11th Grade
West Hawaii Explorations Academy
Ms. Texeira
Mentor Dr. Durrell Kapan
Submitted October 31, 2013

Figure 1 Aedes albopictus mosquito captured and

photographed by WHEA Mosquito Project.

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Introduction
Mosquitoes can now be found in almost every place on earth including Hawaii. West
Hawaii is currently home to three disease transmitting mosquito species. Mosquitoes are invasive
to Hawaii and their eradication is a vital objective to prevent disease outbreaks. As vectors,
mosquitoes are threatening towards human health and Hawaiis ecosystem. A vector is an
organism that carries diseases infecting other organisms without being the pathogen itself. An
understanding of the habitat, distribution, and population of mosquitoes in West Hawaii will help
prevent, control, and predict future outbreaks of mosquito transmitted diseases. Aedes aegypti,
Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are in the order Diptera, and the
family Culicidae. These mosquitoes have all been found in West Hawaii by the WHEA Mosquito
Project. (Laponte) (WHEA) (Texeira) (Kapan)

Mosquito Species of West Hawaii and the Diseases They Can Carry
Mosquito species can often be easily identified by their different colorings and patterns.
Male mosquitoes have bushy antenna, where a female mosquitos antenna has very few hairs. A
mosquitoes body is made up of three parts; the head, thorax, and abdomen. The three mosquito
species found in West Hawaii are Ae. aegypti, Cu. quinquefasciatus, and Ae. albopictus.
(WHEA) (Texeira)
Mosquitoes are aquatic insects because they spend the majority of their life in water.
Mosquitoes go through a complete metamorphosis meaning they change appearance completely
from when they're a pupa to the adult stage. The mosquitoes life cycle goes through four parts;
egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The eggs are laid at the surface of water either in rafts or singly, eggs
hatch after 1 to 2 days and go into the larva stage. As larva mosquitoes pass through four in-star
phases, and remain in the larva stage for about 7-14 days. In the pupa stage mosquitoes don't

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feed and look like tiny shrimp; pupas take 4 days to become adults. In the adult stage the
mosquitoes are alive long enough to breed and lay eggs. Only female mosquitoes drink blood,
and to feed her eggs. Otherwise mosquitoes feed on plant nectars. The length of a mosquitos life
cycle can be changed by the environmental temperature. In extreme cold weather mosquitoes can
live as long as a month. (Life Cycle)
Ae. aegypti, or commonly known as the Yellow Fever Mosquito can be identified by its
lyre shaped marking on the thorax. Even though both Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti can carry
Dengue Fever, Ae. aegypti is a larger threat because of its preference to bite humans. Ae.
albopictus is frequently found in eastern areas of the world. Ae. albopictus has a single white
stripe on its thorax. Cu. quinquefasciatus mosquito is entirely brown in coloring. With these
mosquitoes West Hawaii could have disease outbreaks of West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever,
Malaria, Avian Malaria, Yellow Fever, and more. (Laponte)
The West Nile Virus can be very severe and also rather mild. It is possible that the virus
can go completely unnoticed, the carrier may have no idea theyre sick if the virus is not severe.
In severe cases, the West Nile Virus can be deadly. West Nile Virus can be found most commonly
in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia, and the Middle East. Treatment for this disease is
hospitalization. (West Nile Virus) (Dowshen)
There are three stages of Yellow Fever. The first, Early Stage lasts for about 3-4 days and
symptoms include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, flushing, loss of appetite, and
vomiting. The second stage is a Remission. During this stage symptoms tend to downplay and
patients usually recover during this stage. In the third stage patient symptoms may include organ
dysfunction, coma, seizures, delirium, and shock. This stage is deadly and patients can die.
Yellow Fever is found in Africa and South Africa. The Ae. aegypti mosquito is well known for

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carrying Yellow Fever. Which gives this mosquito its common name, the Yellow Fever
Mosquito. (Yellow Fever)
Dengue fever is most commonly transferred by the Ae. aegypti mosquito. It starts with
high fevers, and can have a red rash. Other symptoms are fatigue, headache, vomiting, nausea,
muscle and joint aches. This disease is known for the excruciating pain it causes. Dengue Fever
lasts about a week, and is not deadly. A full recovery is expected after dengue fever. Dengue
fever can be found in Northeastern Australia, Indonesian Archipelago, South and Central
America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. (Dengue Fever)

Effects of Having Mosquitoes in Hawaii and Their Distribution

Mosquitoes can live in a wide range of habitats, but tend to prefer dark, moist areas, such
as tropical forests and marshes. Mosquitoes need water to live, so it will always be a major part
of their habitat. The Mosquito Project found that mosquito population significantly increases
after heavy rainfall. Their results also suggest mosquitoes have a preference for areas with
foliage. (Texeira) (WHEA) (Kapan)
Things that attract mosquitoes include CO2, body odor, body heat, and movement. With
these facts it's easy to predict that mosquitoes prefer heavily populated areas. (Borror and
Triplehorn)
Because Hawaiis birds were sheltered from outside diseases for so long their immune
systems were unable to evolve against these threats. With weak immune systems Hawaiis native
birds are extremely vulnerable to mosquito borne diseases. Mosquito transferred diseases such as
Avian Malaria have brought over half of the native bird species to extinction. Hawaiis native
birds are very important to the ecosystem in Hawaii, they are pollinators, prey, and predators.
(Laponte)

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Hawaii is especially vulnerable to disease outbreak compared to other places. This is

because Hawaii serves as a popular tourism destination which results in a high probability of
infected people or pets visiting and bringing diseases with them (Texeira). West Hawaii has the
mosquitoes to support a disease outbreak, the only factor left is when.
Data from the WHEA Mosquito Project shows increased amounts of mosquitoes around
areas with heavy foliage. Ae. albopictus has been found and recorded in the Holualoa, Palisades,
and NELHA regions. Data collected by the WHEA Mosquito Project has found Ae. agypti and
Cu. quinquefasciatus in the NELHA area. (WHEA)

Prevention and Eradication of Mosquitoes

Getting rid of mosquitoes can be very hard. There are many chemical products that are
made to ward off mosquitoes; these are often not only bad for the environment but also for the
user. To be able to manage mosquitoes it is important to contain whatever is making them come
in the first place. Mosquitoes are aquatic insects that breed, and spend the majority of their lives
in water; therefore mosquitoes cant live without a water source. So the first step to managing
mosquitoes is to remove all water habitats. (Vector Control) (Life Cycle) (WHEA) (Kapan)
For example, preventing stagnant water from accumulating is a great way to get rid of
mosquitoes. Turn off water hoses, dont leave containers of water out, and dont over water
plants or yards. Mosquitoes are often attracted to repugnant smells, such as body odor, rotting
foods, etc. Keeping a clean environment will discourage mosquito populations. Many common
areas that retain water are cans, old tires, gardens or potted plants, buckets, clogged gutters, bird
baths, and shallow ponds. Frequently check for mosquito larva, and any possible breeding sites.
(Vector Control)

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Some herbal repellents that are suggested to ward off mosquitoes include garlic,
lemongrass, cinnamon, catnip, onions, and marigold. There are many products that are said to
prevent mosquitoes from biting; DEET is one chemical commonly used in these products. DEET
is a chemical that works well against mosquitoes, but is an extreme health hazard causing brain
damage and blistering. It is important to know what products are safe to use against mosquitoes.
David Pimentel, Ph. D., an entomologist says that only about 0.01 percent of sprayed chemicals
actually find the pest, while the other 99.9 percent affects the wildlife. The majority of repellants
advertize against mosquitoes, but DEET wards off most all insects. There are many ideas,
products, and ways to ward off mosquitoes, but the best choice would be to eliminate their
habitat. (Mosquito Repellent) (WHEA) (Vector Control)
Many have questioned if the extinction of mosquitoes would have any serious
disadvantages. The importance of mosquitoes in an ecosystem is a topic that is widely debated.
Many scientists agree that the extinction of mosquitoes would not have any extreme dire
implications on an area, and their role in the ecosystem would easily be replaced. (Fang, Janet)
Yet the role mosquitos play obviously differs between areas. For example in the arctic
mosquitoes are predators of caribou, and the prey of many bird species. Male mosquitoes are
solely dependent on plant nectar for food, making them valuable pollinators. Dina Fonseca, an
evolutionary ecologist speaks of the thousands of plant species that are pollinated by mosquitoes.
(Fang, Janet)
Mosquitoes are aquatic insects so their eggs and larvae live in the water. Mosquito larvae
are considered a major food source for fish, frogs, salamanders, and many other aquatic animals.
John Addicott an ecologist implied the idea that mosquito larvae may also influence algae
populations.

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Millions of dollars have gone to the endless research to prevent and eradicate mosquitoes.
From mosquito repellants containing toxic chemicals to simple mosquito preventing nets there
has been a lot of work to find stable mosquito control practices. Some ideas are male sterilization
which would slow and reduce populations, RNA interference which causes a mosquito to act self
destructive, chemicals that are more powerful than the ones currently in use, and mosquito traps
which are great for individual use. (Fang, Janet)
A real concern about eradicating mosquitoes is the idea that the mosquitoes
replacement may be worse than the current situation. An ecologist, Phil Lounibous explains
that if mosquitoes were eradicated another vector would simply take its place and there is no way
to determine whether the replacement would be better or worse than mosquitoes. There are
many vector insects other than mosquitoes. (Fang, Janet)
Mosquito borne diseases are a global problem but their control starts with community
awareness and action to eliminate habitats. Because West Hawaii is especially susceptible to
disease outbreak mosquito control needs to be a top priority to preserve native species and
protect Hawaiis inhabitants.

Works Cited
A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, Dengue Fever
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002350/> August 28, 2009

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A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, West Nile Virus

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004457/> September 15, 2009
A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, Yellow Fever
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002341/> December 1, 2009
Borror, Donald J. , Triplehorn, Charles A. , Johnson, Norman F. Introduction to the Study of
Insects,
October 24, 2011 Saunders College Publishing
Dowshen, Steven West Nile Virus
<http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/west_nile.html#> August 2009
Fang, Janet. "A World without Mosquitoes." Nature. N.p., 21 July 2010. Web.
<http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html>.
Kapan, Durrell (May 14 2012) Personal Interview
Kapan, Durrell (July 2012) Personal Interview
Kapan, Durrell (August 20 2012) Personal Interview
Kapan, Durrell (November 18 2012) Personal Interview
Kapan, Durrell (2011-2013) Personal Interviews
Laponte, D., and J. Burgett. "Mosquitoes in Hawai'i." Hawaii Conservation Alliance, 3 Dec.
2005.
<http://hawaiiconservation.org/files/content/resources/publications/position_papers/mosq
uitos.pdf>.
Life Cycle of Aedes Aegypti Oct 10, 2011
<http://denguevirusnet.com/life-cycle-of-aedes-aegypti.html>
Mosquito Repellent Has Health Risks, Florida Mosquito Control Fact Sheet

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<www. Cmcd.org/pdfs/mosquito=repellent.pdf>
Texeira, Sylvia July 2011- October 2013, Personal Interviews
Vector Control Branch, Mosquitoes September 19, 2011
<hawaii.gov/health/environmental/vector/mosquitoflyer.pdf>
Vector Control Branch, June 7, 2004,
<http://hawaii.gov/health/enviormental/vector/index...>
West Hawaii Explorations Academy Mosquito Project Research and Data