Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Ochlerotatus (Finlaya) geniculatus, Culicidae, Hungary

Posted by Xespok on 03-09-2006 22:47
#1

This was an ultradistinctive darkish mosquito. Unfortunately, the photos are not very good, since I could not shade my flash with one hand being there to feed the hungry female.

Edited by Xespok on 13-09-2006 22:00

Posted by Xespok on 03-09-2006 22:47
#2

Another view.

Posted by Tony Irwin on 03-09-2006 23:38
#3

This is the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) - spreading rapidly through America and Europe and a vector for some very unpleasant diseases. There's plenty of information on-line.

Posted by Xespok on 03-09-2006 23:53
#4

Are you sure? I think this is a different species. This image from my older web site shows A. albopictus from Japan, which is quite different. A. albopictus was the most common mosquito in Japan by distance.

Of course tiger mosquitos could look quite different in other parts of the world.

Posted by Tony Irwin on 04-09-2006 02:25
#5

Perhaps I was too quick with my response. :(
I think you are right to question my identification. The white bands on the side of the thorax appear to be too wide for albopictus, and the hind tarsi lack the very wide white bands that are typical of this species.
Perhaps someone with a better knowledge of the central European mosquito fauna can give you a more considered opinion.

Posted by Tony Irwin on 04-09-2006 18:21
#6

I am quite sure this time! Ochlerotatus (Finlaya) geniculatus - a species that breeds in rot-holes of trees (and does occur in Hungary and Britain, though I've never seen it).

Posted by Xespok on 04-09-2006 20:56
#7

This sounds more probale. I found this mosquito in the forest after some extensive rains. I am pretty sure that I had never observed this mosquito before anywhere. I think this species is uncommon here. Pity that I could not make a better image. Though even these images came with some blood sacrifice. (Though I collected this fly, so it I took my revenge.)

So far all mosquitos here were various shades of brown. Their sizes and morphologies were very different, and I am quite confident I have photos of at least a half a dozen species on my web site, but I have no literature to try to id them.