Santa Clara County is home to some 19 species of mosquitoes. The following table lists the six most common species, their common name, habitat, time of year most likely found and diseases they are capable of transmitting.
Other species of mosquitoes found in our County include:
• Anopheles punctipennis, An. occidentalis and An. franciscanus.
• Culiseta incidens and Cs. particeps.
• Culex apicalis, Cx. boharti, Cx. stigmatosoma, and Cx. erythrothorax.
• Aedes dorsalis, Ae. melanimon, Ae. washinoi, and Ae. nigromaculis.
| SPECIES |
COMMON NAME |
HABITAT |
SEASON/
PEAK MONTH |
DISEASES |
Culex pipiens
|
Northern house mosquito |
Containers, ponds, drains, under-ground, foul water |
All year/
August |
West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis |
Culex tarsalis
|
Western encephalitis mosquito |
Ponds and vegetated pools |
Spring thru Fall/May and September |
West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis |
Aedes sierrensis
|
Western treehole mosquito |
Treeholes, containers |
Spring/April |
Dog heartworm |
Aedes squamiger
|
California salt
marsh mosquito |
Stagnant brackish or salt water |
Late winter, early Spring/
February |
None |
Anopheles freeborni
|
Western malaria mosquito |
Pond margins, stream margins |
Summer/
August |
Malaria |
Culiseta inornata
|
Winter mosquito |
Stagnant brackish water, ponds |
Fall through Spring/March |
None |