Zika is currently getting all the attention, but Aedes aegypti has long been known as the yellow fever mosquito.
Yellow fever is a viral disease that can cause jaundice, bleeding and multiple organ failure in some cases.
And 390 million people are infected with the dengue virus each year, largely as a result of bites from Aedes aegypti.
Chikungunya, another virus causing alarm as it expands around the world, is also spread by the insects.
They do it by biting someone who is infected and then biting someone else.
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More on the Zika crisis:
Up to four million Zika cases predicted
What you need to know
Zika 'could become pandemic'
Video - WHO: 'Level of concern is high'
Video - How mums-to-be are tackling Zika
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Only the females bite and they love human blood