Culex quinquefasciatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Culex quinquefasciatus (originally named Culex fatigans), commonly known as the southern house mosquito, is a medium-sized mosquito found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a vector of Wuchereria bancrofti, avian malaria, and arboviruses including St. Louis encephalitis virus, Western equine encephalitis virus, Zika virus and West Nile virus. It is taxonomically regarded as a member of the Culex pipiens species complex. Its genome was sequenced in 2010, and was shown to have 18,883 protein-coding genes.
American entomologist Thomas Say described Culex quinquefasciatus, which he collected along the Mississippi River, in 1823. Originally written as "C. 5-fasciatus", the name refers to five (quinque) black, broad, transverse bands ("fasciatus" or "fasciae") on the mosquito's dorsal abdomen. The name remains despite later revelations of more than five fasciae, thanks to improved microscopy. Although quinquefasciatus is the official scientific name, there are at least five synonymous names for this species.
Cx. quinquefasciatus is a member of the Culex pipiens species complex. Smith et al. 2004 develop an assay specifically for this complex... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Mosquito sighting in Las Vegas on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 86th most-seen of the 111 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern House Mosquito in Las Vegas on a given day, against under 5% in September and December–July, the lowest months.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Southern House Mosquito sightings, Las Vegas ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Auckland (New Zealand, about 10%).
Same order: Diptera
The closest relatives of the Southern House Mosquito that you can see in Las Vegas (order Diptera, Flies) are Large Creosote Gall Midge (about 10%), Golden-Tailed Beebandit (about 10%) and Common European Greenbottle Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern House Mosquito is recorded against all the insects logged in Las Vegas (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
