Details - Public Health Image Library(PHIL)

ID#:

24559

Caption:

This photo shows a larval sampling tool (called a dipper), being used to collect Culiseta melanura mosquito larvae living in standing water near tree roots. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station monitors mosquito traps around the state to look for Cs. melanura mosquitoes. These mosquitoes primarily bite birds, and are responsible for spreading Eastern equine encephalitis virus among birds. Cs. melanura larvae can be found primarily around the roots of wetland and woodland swamp trees (red maple, white cedar, cypress, black tupelo, and in sphagnum bogs). Transmission to people requires another mosquito species to create a “bridge” between infected birds, and uninfected mammals, such as people or horses. Most of the bridge species are within the Aedes, Coquillettidia, and Culex genera.