New mosquito species found in Miami-Dade is spreading across Florida
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University of Florida assistant professor and mosquito biologist Lawrence Reeves uses an aspirator to catch mosquitoes. Photo: Courtesy of Lawrence Reeves, UF/IFAS
What's that buzz? It could be one of the 90 mosquito species that call Florida home.
Driving the news: Add one more to the list. A new species of mosquito has made a permanent home in at least three Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, according to a new study by faculty at the University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
- The mosquito — known by its scientific name, Culex lactator — is typically found in Central America and northern South America.
- UF researchers first observed it in South Dade in 2018 and it has since been documented near Naples and Fort Myers.
Why it matters: Non-native mosquito species can carry diseases like West Nile Virus, St. Louis encephalitis and Zika.
- It's unclear if the Culex lactator can transmit any diseases, but scientists are concerned about how quickly new mosquito species are establishing a presence in Florida.
What they're saying: UF assistant professor and mosquito biologist Lawrence Reeves, the study's lead author, said in a press release that it will be important to monitor the mosquitos as they spread to other parts of the state.
- "We need to be vigilant for introductions of new mosquito species because each introduction comes with the possibility that the introduced species will facilitate the transmission of a mosquito-transmitted disease," Reeves said.
