Submitted by the MVCAC VVBD Committee
J. Musto. 10 Sep 2026. The Independent. View here
A new species of mosquito has been found in the United States for the first time, Florida researchers announced this week. The insect, Aedes amateuri, [see picture] was previously only recorded in Mexico but scientists say they’ve now found the mosquito in southeastern Arizona’s Sky Islands. The mosquito is known to feed on humans and other large mammals, the University of Florida said this week. But little else is known about the species, including whether it can spread disease.
“This discovery shows how important it is to remain vigilant in monitoring mosquitoes, because we are still detecting species that were previously unknown in the U.S., a region where they have been intensively studied for more than a century,” Lawrence Reeves, the scientist who documented the finding in a new study, said.