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Public Health staff are thanking residents close to the Port of Tauranga and Ports of Auckland for alerting them to possible sightings of two unwanted species of mosquitos.
The Asian Tiger Mosquito and Culex quinquefasciatus were discovered on a visiting cargo ship in December and a Public Health advisory was issued.
Asian Tiger mosquito.
The service received about 50 phone calls from vigilant members of the public who reported unusual mosquitoes in the vicinity of the ports.
Most of the unusual insects could be ruled out over the phone from the descriptions provided, but Ministry of Health manager of border and environmental health Sally Gilbert says in some instances the insects were examined.
Fortunately no other exotic mosquitoes were found from the public reports or from the additional traps put around both ports.
