A New Contender<\/b>: Like any self-respecting thug, Aedes<\/i> (Finlaya)<\/i> japonicus<\/i> japonicus<\/i> (Theobald) has an alias: Ochlerotatus (Finlaya) japonicus (Theobald). Whichever name you choose, you can just call it dangerous. Linda Burnham Larish, an entomologist with the vector control branch of the state Department of Health, first discovered this mosquito last June in a light trap at the Laupahoehoe School on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island. About the same time, it showed up in Hilo. Recently, an adult was caught in Volcano.<\/p>\n
Unlike most other mosquitos found in Hawai\u2018i, <i.Ae.j.japonicusis<\/i> not a fussy eater. Fe males take blood from humans, birds, and other animals \u2013 and that means that this mosquito can be an efficient transmitter of West Nile Virus and other diseases that jump from one species to another.<\/p>\n
According to a fact sheet that Larish has put together, the mosquito is native to northeastern Asia. It was first known to be in the northeastern United States in 1998. By 2003, it had spread to 19 states. The adult mosquito has a dark, scaled body with a gold \u201csaddle\u201d on the back of the thorax and white patches on the sides of the thorax. Legs have three to four white bands.<\/p>\n
When Hawai\u2018i was hit with outbreaks of den gue fever four years ago, some entomologists suspected it might be a result of Aedes japonicus having arrived in the islands, although at that time there were no confirmed records.<\/p>\n
Larish is not certain how the mosquito arrived in East Hawai\u2018i. The Department of Health, which has mosquito traps on all the major islands, has not found Ae.japonicus<\/i> outside of the Big Island.<\/p>\n
Wegesend Bails<\/b>: Less than three months after taking the job of Land Division administra tor for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Warren Wegesend has reportedly re turned to the private sector. Wegesend, formerly general manager of the Villages of Kapolei Asso ciation, was hired to fill the position left vacant when former Land Division administrator Dierdre Mamiya left the DLNR at the end of January. DLNR public information officer Deborah Ward told Environment<\/i> Hawai\u2018i<\/i> that Wegesend\u2019s offi cial last day was April 18. Big Island land agent Harry Yada will take on Wegesend\u2019s duties while the department searches for a permanent replace ment.<\/p>\n
Speaking of departures, Board of Land and Natural Resources at-large member Toby Martyn, whose term, many thought didn\u2019t expire until June 30, 2006, is leaving the board. Unlike most board members, his term was for three, not four years. He leaves the board next month along with O\u2018ahu\u2019s Kathryn Whang Inouye and Maui\u2019s Ted Yamamura.<\/p>\n
Trouble at CEATECH<\/b>: Three-and-a-half years ago, when the Board of Agriculture voted to approve a $2.5 million loan to CEATECH USA, Inc., staff with the state Department of Agriculture\u2019s loan division (believing the Kaua\u2018i shrimp farm was destined for failure), pitched a fit. And rightly so, some might say, given the recent turn of events. This past March, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing debts of $1 million to $10 million, with assets of no more than $1 million. The filing follows years of financial troubles, including a default judgment in circuit court and the loss of millions of shrimp from a virus that infected the farm last year.<\/p>\n
Correction<\/b>: In last month\u2019s story about the Hawai\u2018i Ocean and Coastal Council, Leimana DaMate\u2019s name was misspelled.<\/p>\n
Volume 15, Number 11 May 2005<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A New Contender: Like any self-respecting thug, Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) has an alias: Ochlerotatus (Finlaya) japonicus (Theobald). Whichever name you choose, you can just call it dangerous. Linda Burnham Larish, an entomologist with the vector control branch of … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-november-2005"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}