Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Genus: Culex
Subgenus: Culex
Species: C. Sitiens
Binomial name: Culex sitiens
Synonyms: Culex impellens, Culex microannulatus, Culex bancroftii, Culex gnophodes, Culex somaliensis, Culex nigricephala, Culex salus, Culex mauritanicus, Culex jepsoni, Culex saibaii, Culex paludis, Culex annulata, Culex milni, Culex salinus
Common name: Saltmarsh culex
NZ Status: Not present- Unwanted Organism
Report all sighting to PEST-AND-DISEASE HOTLINE – 0800 80 99 66
Culex sitiens is a mosquito that is widespread in coastal areas of Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Korea, South, Madagascar (includes Glorioso, Juan De Nova Is. and Mayotte), Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea (Island) - Papua New Guinea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa (Ind. State of Samoa, American Samoa, Western Samoa), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen.
At present, it is not in New Zealand, though it has been found here in the past and the Ministry for Primary industries (MPI) has successfully eradicated them. In the past, it has been intercepted in Auckland on aircraft and at the ports of Auckland inside tyres. The latest find was in March 2018 at Northland's Kaipara Harbour where this mosquito's larvae were found.
All sightings have to be reported by ringing PEST-AND-DISEASE HOTLINE – 0800 80 99 66
It is a serious pest in some countries where it is a complete vector of the Ross River virus, West Nile virus and the Japanese encephalitis. This species is also involved in the transmission of the tropical roundworm Brugia malayi which blocks the lymph nodes and lymph vessels causing the gross swelling of limbs.
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Culex sitiens a coastal species which breeds in brackish waters. It commonly breeds in pools, puddles, ponds, ditches, crab holes and rock pools. It has occasionally been found breeding in fresh water.
The potential distribution of Culex sitiens in New Zealand is throughout the North Island and as far south as Christchurch.
Culex sitiens has a life cycle of a total of 16 days at 24 C with eggs hatching after being laid in water. Adult females are nocturnal feeding on humans, mammals and birds. They feed indoors and outdoors and resting outside during the day. This species has been found 35 km from breeding areas.
The white band on her its proboscis is smaller than on the similar unwanted mosquito Culex annulirostris
Head lateral
Abdomen dorsal
Abdomen lateral
A blood-fed female.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
