📸 PhotoPhoto: James Gathany/CDC · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Asian tiger mosquito
Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito · ヒトスジシマカ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 10 mm is about half the diameter of a Korean 10-won coin (18 mm), and its average length of 4 mm is less than one-quarter of that coin (Comparison).
- 💡 It also develops in human-made containers with standing water such as tires, bird baths, clogged gutters, and litter (Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Asian tiger mosquito is a small mosquito with white stripes on its legs and palps that breeds wherever standing water is present.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
The white and black stripes on its palps and tarsal segments give it its common name, and the tip of its abdomen is pointed. Males have much bushier antennae.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Males feed on flower nectar and sugar-rich plant juices; females also eat these juices but need a blood meal to develop eggs. Because it is a weak flier, it spends most of its life within 500 m.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea as "Hinjulsunmogi" (Korean name).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 89W76
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000091498 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000091498
- • wikidata.org — Q477918
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Aedes Albopictus.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Aedes albopictus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Richard J. Harris · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.