7. Aedes (Ochlerotatus) communis (de Geer, 1776)

(Fig. 2F)

Published sources: Remm (1957: 155), Burtin (2014: 44), Kirik et al. (2021: 11).

Voucher material: 1♀, Tõrve (58° 37′ 40″ N, 26° 23′ 48″ E), 27.VI–01.VII.2018, H. Kirik leg., H. Kirik det., Mosquito Magnet trap, IZBE0210190, GenBank: OK465145 ; 1♀, Tartu (58° 23′ 40″ N, 26° 44′ 05″ E), 06.VI.2017, H. Kirik leg., H. Kirik det., sweep net, IZBE0210191, GenBank: OK465146; 1♂, Tartu (58° 23′ 24″ N, 26° 44′ 40″ E), 17.V.2015, O. Kurina leg., O. Kurina det., sweep net, IZBE0210192 .

Comment: 7,316 mosquitoes (30.1% of all specimens collected) were identified as Ae. communis, making it the dominant species in Estonia. Aedes communis can be found everywhere in the country. It is especially numerous during May and June, but individuals can be found until October. Importantly, there appears to be two distinct mitochondrial lineages in the area, which can make DNA barcoding difficult, as some COI sequences appear to be very similar to the North American Ae. tahoensis (Dyar, 1916) (Kirik et al. 2020).