There are three basic details that you will need to look for if you want to tell the difference between a tiger mosquito and a yellow fever mosquito. At first glance, both are small, about one centimeter in length, and they have white lines on their legs and abdomens, but looking closer some distinctive features can be seen:
- The pattern on the thorax: the yellow fever mosquito has 4 white lines – two thick ones and 2 thin ones – along the thorax which make the shape of a lyre. The tiger mosquito has a single white line on the upper part of the thorax, running all the way to the head.
- The color: the yellow fever mosquito is a dark brown color. The tiger mosquito is black.
- Lines on the abdomen: the yellow fever mosquito has a perpendicular white line on each segment of the abdomen, with round white spots on the sides. The tiger mosquito has a line which is similar to that of the yellow fever mosquito, but it is thinner, and there are triangle-shaped spots on the sides which are also smaller than the yellow fever mosquito’s spots.
Drawings: Jose Luis Ordóññez (CC-BY-NC-2.0)
