Common Mosquitoes in Western Australia

Some species are very rare and are never encountered in large numbers, while other species do not bite people, preferring to feed only on other animals.

Of the mosquito species found in WA, only 30 species are considered to be major pests and/or possible carriers of viruses (including, Ross River virus (RRV), Barmah Forest virus (BFV), Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) virus  and West Nile virus Kunjin strain (WNV_KUN)) that can cause diseases in humans.

• Aedes camptorhynchus
• Aedes notoscriptus
  
• Aedes vigilax
  
• Anopheles annulipes s.l.
• Culex annulirostris
  
• Culex quinquefasciatus

Mosquito	Distribution	Habitat/ breeding preference	Dispersal capability from the breeding site	Biting habit; biting period	Active season	Human Disease carrier in WA
Aedes camptorhynchus	Southern parts of WA	Coastal or inland brackish water  Tidal salt marshes; especially sites with samphire	Up to 3-5 km	Vicious; all times	Winter, spring and early summer	RRV and BFV
Aedes notoscriptus	All of WA	Clean water within the domestic environment; artificial containers such as:  water ponds bird baths pet water bowls gutters pot plant drip trays leaf axils	About 0.4 km Prefer to stay around houses	Vicious; active dawn and dusk; occasionally at night and day time; prefers shade	Year around North of WA more in wet months South of WA more in warm months	RRV
Aedes vigilax	South to Cape Naturaliste; Northern arid coastal and inland regions	Coastal saltmarshes  and brackish swamps	Up to 100 km	Vicious; all times	Warmer months	RRV and BFV
Anopheles annulipes s.l	All WA	Permanent and semi-permanent fresh water	Unknown	Night time; occasionally in day times	All year, peak in summer/wet season	None
Culex annulirostris	All WA except extreme southwest of WA	Permanent/ semi-permanent freshwater bodies;  mildly brackish water  man-made lakes  containers  Prefers heavily vegetated sites	Up to 10 km	Active in dawn, dusk and night	Northern WA Year around but more in mid to late wet season & early dry season Southern WA More in summer (water temp. >18oC)	MVE, WNVKUN, RRV and BFV
Culex quinquefasciatus	All WA	Clean or polluted water domestic environment  artificial containers  Most often from street drains around urban environments.	Limited	Active in dawn, dusk and night	Year around	Poor disease vector in WA

More information

Medical Entomology

Phone: (08) 9285 5500
Email: medical.entomology@health.wa.gov.au

Related links

• Adult mosquito identification
• Adult mosquito trapping
• Arbovirus surveillance and research program in Western Australia
• Fight the Bite campaign
• Mosquito management
• Mosquito-borne diseases