The black salt marsh mosquito is considered a nuisance mosquito in Miami Florida, Aedes taeniorhynchus The black salt marsh mosquito is a common mosquito in eastern coastal areas of South Florida including Miami and Miami Beach along the islands and the Americas, It is an aggressive biter and thus contributes to its unsavory reputation as a pest insect. a mayor part of mosquito insecticide applications in the State of Florida is due to Aedes taeniorhynchus. in the Everglades, It is sheltered from large-scale mosquito misting in order to preserve the delicate ecosystem, as part of the Everglades National Park conservation program. Although it is capable of transmitting pathogens to humans and other animals it is not known as primary vector or major concern. Aedes taeniorhynchus emergence in great numbers after events of rains and flooding,

The larval habitats of the black salt marsh mosquito In Miami

It is typically constrained to the coastal salt marshes, but this species has a long flight range at times it can be found far inland, particularly in Florida where it can be found throughout the state especially in brackish, marshy areas.

Aedes taeniorhynchus has four distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

Adults: Like true flies in the order Diptera and most mosquitoes, Aedes taeniorhynchus possess a pair of wings and a pair of knobby halteres for directional perception and stability during flights.

The lack of salt marsh mosquito has long, narrow wings with scales along the wing veins. Females of the subfamily of Culicinae, such as Aedes taeniorhynchus, likewise possess palps that are shorter than the proboscis. The mouthparts of mosquitoes are made up of a pair of piercing and a feeding tube called stylets for sucking. Together these mouthparts are called to as a proboscis.

Male and female mosquitoes are distinguishable from each other by their antennae. The male has a  feather-like or plumose antennae, and the female has antennae with only a few hairs on it.

Mating takes place a couple of days after emergence, While primarily feeding occurs at night adults will bite during the day if the resting sites where they are resting are disturbed. While both male and female Aedes taeniorhynchus will feed on nectar from plants, only females are blood feeders (haematophagous),

They prefer to bite mammals and birds, hoewver the female will regularly bite humans. The female will generally have a bloodmeal right before laying eggs (ovipositing); however, unlike most mosquitoes Aedes taeniorhynchus is partially autogenous, meaning they can lay an initial clutch of eggs without feeding a bloodmeal.

The Eggs of Aedes Taeniorhynchus

Eggs are laid in moist soil, and not directly in water, in areas that are sheltered and high enough above the water line to be affected only by sufficient flooding, which will trigger eggs to hatch

Infrequent occurrences of eggs being deposited in and hatched from containers similar to Aedes aegypti is possible with Aedes taeniorhynchus, Egg hatching is dependent on flooding by rainfall or tides, once this occurs the larvae develop quickly.

The Larvae of Aedes Taeniorhynchus

The larval stage consists of four instars or molts that can take anywhere from 5 to 15 days to complete, this based on ambient temperature. Larval development can happen in any level salinity from brackish water, fresh water to ocean water.

The pupae of Aedes Taeniorhynchus

The pupal stage will follow the fourth instar or molt, this stage only lasts for a couple of days, then the adult mosquito emerges. Although pupae are active swimmers they do not feed during this stage in life.

Aedes taeniorhynchus is medically relevant, primarily as a vector of two alphaviruses from the family Togaviridae, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and Venezuelan equine encephalitis that primarily affects horses, however, it can also attack humans during seasonal outbreaks. The transmission of Eastern equine encephalitis to humans happens when the mosquito acts as bridge vectors between infected birds and uninfected mammals.

In the U.S., the black salt marsh mosquitoes are one of 16 mosquito species identified as capable of transmitting Dirofilaria immitis the disease that causes heartworms in dogs, 11 of which are found in Florida.  Heartworms in dogs most frequently occur during the late spring and summer months when the production of mosquitois high. In Florida the higher temperatures enable a year-round transmission of dog heartworm presenting a higher risk to both domestic and wild animals.

Aedes taeniorhynchus Control and Management In Miami

The control strategies for managing of salt marsh mosquitos in Miami is complex and often involve an integrated mosquito management program that utilizes the elimination of mosquito breeding sites, monitoring to measure mosquito populations, using larvicides and adulticides.

Reducing source breeding grounds through water management strategies including impounding, ditching, and open marsh water management (OMWM) techniques which can only be done by certified licensed operators or government employees, with an aim of reducing mosquito larval populations.

Personal protection is vital with the use of repellents containing US-EPA registered active ingredients, or 25b exempt products. Covering up for individuals that spend a lot of time outdoors, long-sleeved clothing pre-treated with insecticide is commercially available as an added measure of protection for individuals but should be used in combination with a repellent to be maximally

Screened windows and doors can also provide added protection to a home by acting as a physical barrier to the invasion of biting insects. Removal of mosquito larval habitats by emptying standing water from planters, buckets, kiddie pools, bromeliads and other containers is also a good general exercise in mosquito control. Although destroying container-breeding sites will have a minimal effect on Aedes taeniorhynchus, this practice can reduce the numbers of other mosquito species found around one’s home.

Since breeding grounds may be miles away from the use larvicides such Insect Growth Regulator, biological such as Spinosad or BTI Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis also a lesser known beauveria bassiana strain gha may not work to control mosquito populations. Adulticide sprays with pyrethroids such as bifenthrin, permethrin, d-phenothrin, cypermethrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, fenvalerate, lambda-cyhalothrin may only provide short term control as it relies on adult mosquitoes landing on plants to kill them.

Newer products like ATSB Attractant Toxic Sugar Baits provide much better control for these difficult to control mosquitoes because they attract the mosquito already in the area to feed on the toxic substance like garlic.