Most mosquitoes bite whatever animal is nearby. Aedes aegypti evolved to prefer people. It hunts in daylight, slips in at ankle height, and bites several people in a row. Knowing how it hunts tells you how to stop it.
The approach · step through it
Five senses, five distances.
A hungry female switches senses as she closes in. Tap each stage to follow her in.
Behaviour profile
A daytime, indoor, ankle-height hunter.
DaytimeWhen it bites
Peaks for about two hours after sunrise and again in the late afternoon. It will also bite indoors and under lights at night.
AnklesWhere it bites
It flies low, approaches from behind, and favours feet and lower legs, the places you're least likely to notice.
Sip feederHow it feeds
Easily disturbed, it often takes several small blood meals from several people for one batch of eggs. Each extra bite is another chance to pass on a virus.
IndoorsWhere it rests
It rests in dark, sheltered spots inside homes, such as under beds, in closets, behind curtains and on dark clothing.
~400 mLifetime range
Most never travel more than a few hundred metres from where they hatched. If you're being bitten, the source is probably nearby.
Females onlyWho bites
Only females bite. They need protein from blood to make eggs, laying about 100 at a time. Males drink plant nectar.
Field ID · is it really her?
Yellow fever mosquito or tiger mosquito?
Both are small, black and white, striped on the legs, and bite aggressively in daylight. If you live somewhere like Chicago, the one biting you is more likely to be the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, which is spreading across the area. The quickest way to tell them apart is the back of the thorax, just behind the head.
Aedes aegyptiThe lyreTwo curved silver lines like a harp, with two thin stripes between them.Aedes albopictusThe single stripeOne bold white line straight down the middle of the back.
Yellow fever mosquito · Ae. aegypti
Asian tiger mosquito · Ae. albopictus
Thorax marking
Silver lyre shape
Single white stripe
Origin
Africa
Southeast Asia
Who it bites
Almost only people
People, pets, birds and other animals
Where it lives
In and around homes, often indoors
Mostly outdoors: yards, gardens, edges of woods
Cold tolerance
Low; struggles to survive northern winters
Higher; eggs can survive winter, so it reaches farther north
US range
South and Southwest, with reports farther north
Much of the East and Midwest, including the Chicago area
Disease risk
Main carrier of dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya
Can carry the same viruses, but is usually a less efficient carrier. It drove recent outbreaks in Europe and China.
Either way, the protection is the same: tip and toss standing water weekly, and use repellent during the day. Think you've found Ae. aegypti outside its usual range? Photograph it from above if you can, and report it to your local mosquito abatement district or health department. Sightings at the edge of the range are exactly what surveillance teams want to know about.
Anatomy of a bite
One "needle" is really six.
What looks like a single needle is a sheath holding six stylets, each with its own job. Hover or tap a part to highlight it.
Are you a mosquito magnet?
Fact, maybe, or myth?
Some people really do get bitten more. Tap each claim to see what the evidence says.
The itch
The bump is your immune system.
The itchy welt isn't damage from the bite. It's your body reacting to proteins in the mosquito's saliva and releasing histamine. That's why the same bite swells a lot on one person and barely shows on another, and why children and newcomers to an area often react more strongly.
What helps: wash the area, apply a cold compress, and try an over-the-counter anti-itch cream or an oral antihistamine. Try not to scratch, because broken skin can get infected.
When to see a doctor: if you have a fever, rash, joint pain or red eyes within two weeks of being bitten in an area with dengue, Zika or chikungunya. Read the symptoms guide →
“By the time you feel the itch, I'm already resting on your curtain, digesting.”
