St. Louis Encephalitis virus

St. Louis Encephalitis—The Role of Chickens

Gary D. Butcher and Richard Miles

The Florida SLE Mosquito, Culex (Culex) nigripalpus Theobald (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae)

J. F. Day

A UF/IFAS numbered Organism ID. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Integrated Pest Management

Shift in Florida’s lizard population could influence spread of mosquito-borne diseases, UF/IFAS scientists probing impacts

Lourdes Mederos

The brown anole, a nonnative lizard and common sight in Florida, has long served as an important host for disease-carrying mosquitoes. However,  its population in South Florida may be declining, apparently displaced by the more recent arrival and spread of the Peters’s rock agama, an aggressive and large nonnative lizard. “This battle over Florida territory […]

UF/IFAS study: New mosquito species reported in Florida

Lourdes Mederos

Another new mosquito species has made its way across the tropics into Florida, making a permanent home in at least three counties. Scientists are concerned because of the rate of new mosquitoes arriving in Florida and the potential for them to transmit mosquito-borne diseases. A mosquito known only by its scientific name, Culex lactator, is […]

Mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus love to bite non-native lizards: What’s next?

Lourdes Mederos

West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis virus circulate among wild birds via mosquitoes, occasionally spilling over to infect humans, horses and other animals.  New research finds that some of the primary vectors of West Nile and other viruses have shifted their blood-feeding patterns to the nonnative lizards that have recently invaded Florida.  Vector mosquitoes […]