''Culex modestus'' (no common name) is a species of blood-feeding
mosquito of the family
Culicidae. It has been experimentally demonstrated to be capable of transmitting
West Nile virus (WNV),
and its habit of feeding aggressively on both birds and humans gives it significant potential for transmission of
zoonotic infections from birds to humans. It is believed to be the principle bridge vector of WNV between birds and humans in southern France and is thought to have played a role in WNV transmission in the
Danube delta,
Caspian Caspian can refer to:
*The Caspian Sea
*The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea
*The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
* Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian p ...
and
Azov sea deltas, and the
Volga region in Russia.
It has also been implicated in Tahyna virus and Lednice virus transmission in France and Slovakia, respectively.
Distribution
''Cx. modestus'' has been found to occur in the following countries:
Algeria,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Croatia,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Finland,
Greece,
Hungary,
Iran,
Iraq,
Israel,
Italy,
Mongolia,
Morocco,
Poland,
Romania,
Russia,
Slovakia,
Spain,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Tajikistan,
Turkey, and the
United Kingdom.
It was recently rediscovered in the United Kingdom, where larval surveys in 2010 and 2011 identified populations in a small area of
southeast England.
A significant number of ''Culex modestus'' specimens was found in 2018 in Leningrad region of Russia, in which only occasional findings were known earlier.''
''
Ecology
''Cx. modestus'' larvae live in fresh to slightly saline water in irrigation channels, marshes, and rice fields.
Adult ''Cx. modestus'' females feed on blood of
vertebrates, especially birds, horses, and humans; males feed on
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3007097
modestus
Modestus was a Roman cognomen. It may refer to:
* Julius Modestus (1st century BC), Roman freedman and grammarian
* Marcus Mettius Modestus (procurator) (1st century AD), Roman governor of Egypt
* Aufidius Modestus (1st century AD), Roman philo ...
Insects described in 1889
Nematoceran flies of Europe
Diptera of Asia
Insects of North Africa