Galapagos Species Database

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Mode of introduction: Not applicable

Introduced status: Not applicable

Impact elsewhere: This species is a vector of avian pox and West Nile virus as well as avian malaria caused by Plasmodium relictum.

Control History in Galapagos: In Galapagos, it is important to prevent mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus and avian malaria from arriving from the mainland. This can be achieved by fumigation of all cargo and vessels arriving to the island, as well as trapping on boats traveling between islands, as well as regular monitoring to ensure that these methods are effective.

Control methods elsewhere: Options used include aerial application of pesticide to eliminate adults, and introduction of biological control agents (aquatic predators) to eat the larvae.

Habitat preferences: The black salt-marsh mosquito breeds both in the Galapagos highlands as well as along coastal regions. Black salt-marsh mosquitoes are tolerant of a wide range of salinity, and breed in temporary water sources such as mangrove habitat and salt marshes (as cited in Bataille 2010). Eggs are laid in moist soil where they can stay viable for years, resisting desiccation and cold temperatures, until a temporarily flood by rain or tide allows them to hatch out en masse (as cited in Bataille 2010).

Trophic role: Omnivorous

Reproductive biology: Adults join mating swarms above bushes or small trees at twilight, after which females lay clutches of 100 to 200 eggs after taking a blood meal. Females lay eggs in 5-day cycles, and usually live for 3 weeks. Eggs are laid at a certain level below the high water line in salt marsh and mangrove swamp depressions. Eggs hatch when immersed in water, and the larvae feed on bacteria and other microorganisms.

Distribution origin: North America, South America

Disease vector: The black salt-marsh mosquito may be a candidate for transmission of vector-borne pathogens throughout the archipelago (as cited in Bataille 2010), and has been known outside of Galapagos as a vector of avian pox, West Nile virus, and avian malaria.

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Baltra, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Gardner, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Rábida, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santiago.

• Bataille, A. Horsburgh, G.J., Dawson, D.A., Cunningham, A.A. & Goodmanb, S.J. (2009) Microsatellite markers characterized in the mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus (Diptera, Culicidae), a disease vector and major pest on the American coast and the Galápagos Islands. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 9(5): 971-975.
• Bataille, A. Cunningham, A.A., Cedeño, V., Patiño, L., Constantinou, A., Kramer, L.D. & Goodman, S.J. (2009) Natural colonization and adaptation of a mosquito species in Galápagos and its implications for disease threats to endemic wildlife. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106(25): 10230-10235.
• Sinclair, B.J. Peck, S.B. (2005) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished, 64 pp.
• Siers, S. Merkel, J., Bataille, A., Vargas, F.H. & Parker, P.G. (2010) Eccological correlates of microfilariae prevalence in endangered Galápagos birds. Journal of Parasitology, 96(2): 259-272.
• Johnson, C.W. (1924) Diptera of the Williams Galapagos Expedition. Zoologica 5(8): 85-92.
• Curran, C.H. (1934) The Templeton Crocker Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences, 1932. No. 13 Diptera. Calif. Acad. Sc., Fourth Series 21(13): 147-172.
• Linsley, E.G. Usinger, R.L. (1966) Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 33(7): 113-196.
• Peck, S.B. (1994) Aerial dispersal of insects between and to islands in the Galápagos archipelago, Ecuador. Annls. Entomol. Soc. Am. 87(2): 218-224.
• Parkin, P. Parkin D.T., Ewing, A.W. & Ford, H.A. (1972) A report on the arthropods collected by the Edinburgh University Galapagos Islands Expedition, 1968. The Pan-pacific Entomologist 48: 100-107.
• Gerecke, R. Peck, S.B. & Pehofer, H.E. (1995) The invertebrate fauna of the inland waters of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador) - a limnological and zoogeographical summary. Arch. Hydrobiol./ Suppl. 107(2): 113-147.
• Apperson, C. (1991) The black salt marsh mosquito, Aedes taeniorhynchus Wing Beats, Vol. 2(4): 9.
• Bataille, A. Cunningham, A., Cruz, M., Cedeno, V., & Goodman, S. (2010) Seasonal effects and fine-scale population dynamics of Aedes taeniorhynchus, a major disease vector in the Galapagos Islands. Molecular Ecology 19, 4491-4504
• Sinclair, B. J. (2023) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Zootaxa, 5283, 1-102