Thirty Years of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in America: An Introduction to Current Perspectives and Future Challenges.

Abstract

It should be noted that mosquitoes which are apparently harmless in their native habitat may become vectors of disease when introduced into a new environment. These concluding words by Pratt and co-authors (1946) appear in an article that documented the first published occurrence of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in the mainland United States. Now, 70 yr later, the sentiment seems both prescient and appropriate. The successful establishment of Ae. albopictus into the mainland United States is recognized to have occurred in 1985 (Hawley et al. 1987), although this was not the first time this species was documented on American shores. During 1945–1946, Pratt et al. (1946) documented nonnative mosquitoes in various shipments of used military hardware returning to the port of Los Angeles, CA, from tropical and semitropical locations throughout the Pacific theater of WWII (Fig. 1) . This material, which included tires, amphibious vehicles, and spent shell casings, were breeding sites for the seven container species documented in these shipments. One shipment contained live larvae and adults of Ae. albopictus that originated in Batangas in the Philippine Islands, some 11,000 km from Los Angeles by ship. To prevent the wide dispersal of these insects, ship holds and rail cars used for transport out of the port were subjected to aerosol applications of insecticides. The exact numbers of Ae. albopictus larvae and adults entering at this time was undocumented; however, compared with other more numerous species cataloged at that time (e.g., Aedes scutellaris hebrideus Edwards), the infestation seemed modest. Coupled with the intense eradication efforts, this may help explain why this species (and others arriving at this time) did not become established in the United States. Fig. 1. Military jeep tires stacked as surplus on the island of Okinawa, …