Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus ( Skuse, 1895 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Turner, James & Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad, 2023, An overview of the mosquitoes of Saudi Arabia (Diptera: Culicidae), with updated keys to the adult females, Zootaxa 5394 (1), pp. 1-76 : 28

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus ( Skuse, 1895) ( Fig. 25 )

Type locality. Calcutta, India .

Distribution. This species is cosmopolitan and is a known invasive mosquito, although originally confined to the Oriental Region ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East and North Africa, it has been found in Algeria, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey ( White 1980; Sabatini et al. 1990; Ibáñez-Bernal & Martínez-Campos 1994; Adhami & Reiter 1998; Schaffner et al. 2004; Klobucar et al. 2006; Aranda et al. 2006; Haddad et al. 2007; Gatt et al. 2009; Izri et al. 2011; Adawi 2012; Becker et al. 2012; Petrić et al. 2012; Šebesta et al. 2012; Oter et al. 2013; Tantely et al. 2016; Benallal et al. 2016; Doosti et al. 2016; Irish et al. 2016; Bennouna et al. 2017; Di Luca et al. 2017; Kanani et al. 2017; Medlock et al. 2017; Trari et al. 2017; Gunathilaka 2018; Al Awaidy & Khamis 2019; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019; Ben Ayed et al. 2019; Bouattour et al. 2019; Merdić et al. 2020; Maquart et al. 2021; Wilkerson et al. 2021). There is no confirmation of the record of this species in Saudi Arabia. It is spreading very fast and there is speculation that it exists in other countries of the Middle East ( Haddad et al. 2007; Kanani et al. 2017; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019).

Remarks. According to Huang (2004), three characters distinguish Ae. albopictus from Ae. unilineatus (Theobald) (see the next species and the key below), however damaged specimens may be misidentified. Aedes albopictus has not been recorded in Saudi Arabia, but its presence and recent establishment in other countries of the Middle East, including Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria ( Haddad et al. 2007; Doosti et al. 2016; Kanani et al. 2017) heightens the risk of its potential introduction into Saudi Arabia. It has been established in many countries during recent decades, mainly due to the trade of used tyres ( Roiz et al. 2008). Thus, it is highly popssible that Ae. albopictus has already been introduced into Saudi Arabia, and that is why it is included here and in the key below.

Medical importance. Aedes albopictus is an aggressive biter and a great nuisance. It is of significant medical and veterinary importance as a vector of at least 22 arboviruses ( Gratz 2004b), the most important of which are chikungunya, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, Sindbis, West Nile, yellow fever and Zika viruses ( Khan et al. 2014; Ferreira-de-Brito et al. 2016; Trari et al. 2017). Some others are Cache Valley, eastern equine encephalitis and La Crosse viruses ( Maquart et al. 2021; Wilkerson et al. 2021). Additionally, Dirofilaria immitis , Plasmodium gallinaceum , P. fallax and P. lophurae have been isolated from this species ( Wilkerson et al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 25. Aedes albopictus, male (Natural History Museum, London, photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).