Microscopically females possess small palps tipped with silver or white scales, and their antennae have sparse short hairs, whereas those of males are feathery.

To find a host, she is attracted to chemical compounds emitted by mammals, including ammonia,[6] carbon dioxide,[7] lactic acid, and octenol.

[8] Scientists at The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service studied the specific chemical structure of octenol to better understand why this chemical attracts the mosquito to its host and found the mosquito has a preference for "right-handed" (dextrorotatory) octenol molecules.

Such a population has been identified to exist in parts of Washington, DC, and genetic evidence suggests they survived at least the last four winters in the region.

One of the study researchers noted, "...some mosquito species are finding ways to survive in normally restrictive environments by taking advantage of underground refugia".

Sadie Ryan of the University of Florida was the lead author in a 2019 study that estimated the vulnerability of naïve populations in geographic regions that currently do not harbor vectors i.e., for Zika in the Old World.

Ryan's co-author, Georgetown University's Colin Carlson remarked,"Plain and simple, climate change is going to kill a lot of people.

On the basis of a genetic study and an analysis of the movements of commercial ships, the origin of the specimen could be traced as coming from Cameroon, in Central Africa.

The effort in sequencing its DNA was intended to provide new avenues for research into insecticides and possible genetic modification to prevent the spread of virus.

[29][30] The yellow fever mosquito can contribute to the spread of reticular cell sarcoma among Syrian hamsters.

[35] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention article on "Protection against Mosquitoes, Ticks, & Other Arthropods" notes that "Studies suggest that concentrations of DEET above approximately 50% do not offer a marked increase in protection time against mosquitoes; DEET efficacy tends to plateau at a concentration of approximately 50%".

aegypti has been genetically modified to suppress its own species in an approach similar to the sterile insect technique, thereby reducing the risk of disease.

[47][48] In 2015, the UK House of Lords called on the government to support more work on genetically modified insects in the interest of global health.

[49] In 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted preliminary approval for the use of modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.

aegypti by the endosymbiotic bacteria allows mosquitos to be resistant to certain arboviruses such as dengue fever and Zika virus strains currently circulating.

[53][54][55] In 2017 Alphabet, Inc. started the Debug Project to infect males of this species with Wolbachia bacteria, interrupting the reproductive cycle of these animals.

[56] Fungal species Erynia conica (from the family Entomophthoraceae) infects (and kills) two types of mosquitos: Aedes aegypti and Culex restuans.

[61] The yellow fever mosquito belongs to the tribe Aedini of the dipteran family Culicidae and to the genus Aedes and subgenus Stegomyia.

Although confirming the existence of these two major subspecies, Gloria-Sora et al. finds greater worldwide diversity than previously recognized and a large number of distinct populations separated by various geographic factors.