August 14th, 2017

REU Student discovers a new mosquito population behind Honolulu 

Rachelle Tom, a native Hawaiian from Pālolo, completed an REU internship in the lab. She surveyed the mosquito community in the Makīkī-Mānoa watershed with a variety of traps. During her field work, she discovered a breeding population of Aedes japonicus in the upper elevations of the watershed. This places a globally invasive mosquito vector of public health importance in the mountains behind Honolulu, Hawai‘i's largest city. Her work highlights the capacity of these mosquitoes to spread to new environments and underscores the necessity for more active mosquito surveillance in Hawai‘i.

Rachelle will start as a graduate student in NREM at UH-Mānoa soon. Way to go, Rachelle!  

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