HISTORY OF AEDES MOSQUITOES IN HAWAII

As a geographically isolated island chain with no native mosquitoes, Hawaii is a model for examining the mechanisms behind insect vector invasions and their subsequent interactions with each other and with human populations. The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, and the Asian tiger mosquito, Ae. albopictus, have been responsible for epidemics of dengue in Hawaii. As one of the world's earliest locations to be invaded by both species, Hawaii's history is particularly relevant because both species are currently invading new areas worldwide and are implicated in outbreaks of emergent or reemergent pathogens such as dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Here we analyze the historical records of mosquito introductions in order to understand the factors that have led to the current distribution of these 2 mosquitoes in the Hawaiian Islands.