In the Eye of the Tiger
Global spread of Asian tiger mosquito could fuel outbreaks of tropical disease in temperate regions
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BIG BITES An aggressive biter, the Asian tiger mosquito can carry a variety of pathogens that cause debilitating diseases in humans and some domestic animals.
James Gathany/CDC
There is no shortage of mosquitoes in North America, and adding one more variety might seem like just a minor uptick in summertime’s itchy-scratchy. But the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, comes with some particularly irritating characteristics. It’s an aggressive hit-and-run biter that frequently lives in close contact with humans. It’s a daytime feeder that dines on humans, dogs, livestock, birds and a host of wild animals. “The feeding behavior of Aedes albopictus is very catholic,” says Duane Gubler, a vector-borne disease expert at Duke–National University of Singapore. “It feeds on everything.”
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People in the southeastern United States are already well acquainted with the Asian tiger, named for its black-and-white stripes. But these mosquitoes are creating quite a buzz as they drift northward into more temperate climates along the East Coast, where their eggs can survive even cold winters.