The mosquito experts at the Collier County Mosquito Control District are continually checking on the activity of the more than 50 known species in the area. Last year, they found a new species and last month, they published their research about it in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.
“The mosquito that we identified is aedeomyia squamipennis, and it is a new genus and species record for Collier County,” Deputy Executive Director Dr. Keira Lucas said.
A lab tech, Hunter Martin, found the new species in a trap in Collier Seminole State Park. The species first appeared in the United States in 2016, in Miami-Dade County. Since then, it has been moving west and north.
“We are seeing more and more tropical mosquitos show up in South Florida, and we do see those mosquito species move north,” said Dr. Lucas.
This species is not known to be a transmitter of diseases to humans.
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