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Have you seen these day-biting mosquitoes?

UC Davis online seminar spotlights research on these invasive mosquitoes

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 19, 2020

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus is the focus
of a UC Davis online seminar Wednesday.
(Photos courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Two day-biting invasive mosquitoes are making themselves at home in California. And both species have the ability to transmit such deadly diseases as Zika virus and yellow fever.

Learn more during an informative and scholarly Zoom seminar at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21. Presented in coordination wth UC Davis, "The Impact of Zika Virus Infection on the Metabolites and Microbiome of Aedes albopictus ” will focus on the lesser-known of these bad bugs.

Mosquito researcher Maria Onyango from the New York State Department of Health will discuss her work on Aedes albopictus , also known as Asian tiger mosquito. Geoffrey Attardo of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will host the seminar. Attardo, a medical entomologist-geneticist, is a research collaborator with Onyango.

So far, the tiger mosquito has found its way into Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties in Southern California, but only Shasta County in Northern California, according to the California Department of Public Health. But it’s expected that it’s only a matter of time before it finds its way into the Central Valley.

Much more widespread is its close cousin, Aedes aegypti , the yellow fever mosquito. It’s been found in 22 counties including Sacramento, Placer, San Joaquin, Sutter and most recently Yolo.

Both mosquitoes have the ability to transmit Zika virus and yellow fever among other diseases. But first, they must bite someone carrying that disease. Fortunately, those tropical diseases remain rare in California.

Health officials warn residents to be on the lookout for these little monsters, only about 1/4-inch in size.

Aedes aegypti , the yellow fever mosquito, has been found in
Citrus Heights, Antelope, Roseville, Winters and Davis.

“Unlike most native mosquito species, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus bite during the day,” says the state’s public health website. “Both species are small, black mosquitoes with white stripes on their back and on their legs. They can lay eggs in any small artificial or natural container that holds water.”

In fact, the eggs of Aedes aegypti can live without water, then hatch when they become wet. Adapted to living close to people, this mosquito will lay eggs in such places as the inner rim of a flower pot or the saucer under the pot. It particularly likes to bite ankles or behind people’s knees.

Locally, the yellow fever mosquito has been found in Citrus Heights, Antelope, Roseville, Winters and Davis. Native to Uganda, this mosquito was first found in California in 2013.

According to Allardo, the Citrus Heights mosquitoes actually may have come from two different populations – one that originated in Los Angeles County and one that started in the Central Valley.

That discovery adds another wrinkle to how this mosquito has migrated throughout California.

To sign up for the seminar or to learn more: https://bit.ly/3m4JEoq

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GENERAL GARDENING

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Keywords:

mosquitoes gardening Sacramento pests Central Valley invasive pest UC Davis

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Garden Checklist for week of July 21

Your garden needs you!

* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.

* Feed vegetable plants bone meal, rock phosphate or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting. (But wait until daily high temperatures drop out of the 100s.)

* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.

* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.

* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.

* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.

* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.

* It's not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.

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