- Northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens - Southern house
mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus - Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes
albopictus - Yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti There are
approximately 175 species of mosquitoes in the continental
United States. For management in and around schools, mosquito
species can be divided into two types; nuisance species and
vector species. Vector species can spread disease and thus
require more vigilance than nuisance species. About 40 species
of mosquitoes found in the US are medically important.
Mosquitoes are of concern in the school environment because many
species are painful biters and/or are capable of transmitting
diseases. In the United States, the threat of developing
encephalitis from mosquitoes is far greater than the threat from
other mosquito vectored diseases. Encephalitis, meningitis and
other diseases can develop from the bites of mosquitoes infected
with certain viruses such as West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis,
LaCrosse (California) encephalitis, and East