Giant Mosquitoes, a “Heritage” of Storm “Beryl” in Yucatan

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After the passage of Tropical Storm “Beryl” and some northerly winds, giant mosquitoes have appeared in Merida that are not native to urban areas, with painful bites that eventually disappear as they fail to adapt to the new conditions, according to Julián Everardo García Rejón, head of the Arbovirology Laboratory at the Regional Research Center “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi” of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY).

“These mosquitoes belong to the genus Psorophora and are likely from the species Psorophora cyanescens or Psorophora ferox”, explains the researcher. “They are native to the Yucatecan mountains and savannas and were brought by air currents after the rains and passage of Beryl”.

“They are larger and more robust than usual because they generally feed on the blood of horses, cows, deer, and other animals with thicker skin, so their proboscis is stronger. If they bite a human, the bite is painful.”

The “giant” mosquitoes do not adapt to new conditions

Interviewed about reports from various neighborhoods, where residents have seen giant mosquitoes, Dr. García Rejón notes that there is always a possibility that coastal or mountain mosquitoes can be brought to the city. Even, he emphasizes, this is very common when it starts raining, northerly winds blow, and cyclones pass.

However, he reiterates that since they are not native species of urban areas, they cannot adapt to their new environment and eventually disappear.

He also points out that in Yucatan, Aedes aegypti (dengue fever, zika, chikungunya virus) coexists with Culex quinquefasciatus (common house mosquito), Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito), and Aedes teaniorhynchus (black mosquito of the swamp).

In response to a direct question, the interviewer notes that in addition to dengue fever, which has caused severe damage in Yucatan in recent years, there is an emerging threat on the horizon for the Peninsula: a new arbovirus called Oropuche, from which cases have been reported in the Caribbean, mainly in Cuba.

“There is national epidemiological alarm at the possibility that this new virus could reach our lands”, he emphasizes.