A field guide to the yellow fever mosquito
Aedes aegypti is the main carrier of Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. It bites in daylight, breeds in the water around your home, and now lives on every warm continent. Here is where it came from, how it spread, why it finds you, and what actually works to stop it.
One mosquito, many names
Its official common name is the yellow fever mosquito, after the disease that made it infamous. People who live alongside it have given it plenty of other names, and most of them describe how it behaves.
Its best-known modern nickname. Unlike many native mosquitoes, it stays low to the ground and targets feet, ankles and lower legs.
Many native mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk. This one is an aggressive daytime hunter, so evening-only precautions miss it.
Used widely in the tropics, where it is the main carrier of the dengue virus. About dengue →
The official common name, from the epidemics it spread through port cities for three centuries. The history →
A regional name for its white “tiger” stripes and its Latin name, aegypti, meaning “of Egypt”, where it was first described in the 1700s. It actually originated in West Africa. Don't confuse it with the Asian tiger mosquito.
If you remember three things
Empty and scrub anything holding water: saucers, buckets, tires, gutters. Eggs become biting adults in about a week, so a weekly sweep breaks the cycle.
This mosquito bites mostly in the morning and late afternoon. Use an EPA-registered repellent on exposed skin, ankles included.
Fever after a bite in a dengue or Zika area deserves a call to a doctor. With dengue, avoid aspirin and ibuprofen.
Explore the field guide
“Hi. I’m the one who bit your ankle this afternoon. Ask me anything. Knowing how I work is the best way to beat me.”
Ada · Aedes aegypti · ♀
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