Genetic analysis suggests a form of mosquito found in urban subway systems evolved in the Middle East thousands of years ago
By James Woodford
6 February 2025
Culex pipiens f. molestus is a form of mosquito found in cities all over the world
blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo
A form of mosquito associated with the London Underground evolved to live in human environments long before subterranean railways sprung up in the 19th century.
Culex pipiens f. molestus is found in cities all over the world, but it became widely known as the London Underground mosquito after the second world war, when it was the scourge of Londoners sheltering in tube stations during the Blitz.
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It is closely related to a bird-biting form of the same species known as Culex pipiens f. pipiens, and biologists thought the molestus form had evolved in urban environments within the past few centuries.
To learn more about its origins, Lindy McBride at Princeton University and her colleagues analysed the DNA of 790 mosquitoes from 44 countries around the world, including the molestus and pipiens forms as well as some closely related species.
The results suggest that, rather than arising in London tube tunnels, the molestus mosquito probably evolved in the Middle East thousands of years ago. There are three main lines of evidence for this.