Publications

The first record of Aedes albopictus in metropolitan France has been made in a village of Orne (Basse-Normandie). A few larvae were collected in October 1999, in the used tire stock of an important tire recycling company, importing in particular from the USA and Japan. Reproduction of the species has taken place in France, and the environmental conditions make the implantation of the species probable.

With the help of the international used tyre trade, the Asian tiger mosquito, Stegomyia albopicta, has been able to expand its range world-wide. In 1979, the species was recorded in Europe for the first time in Albania, and has since been reported in 14 European countries. In addition to its rapid spread, St. albopicta is of particular interest due to its vector capacity for certain infectious viral diseases. Due to the increasing threat of an introduction of St. albopicta from neighbouring countries, a national monitoring programme was initiated in Germany by KABS (German Mosquito Control Organization) in 2005. In addition to used tyre trading companies, sampling was carried out at container terminals at inland ports along the Rhine, terminals receiving trains from Italy, and rest areas and parking lots along the German highway A5 coming from the south. At the end of September 2007, five eggs from the non-indigenous species St. albopicta were found on oviposition substrate in an ovitrap in the southern section of this major north-south highway. This is the first report of this non-indigenous species in Germany and demonstrates that live adults can be transported over long distances within motor vehicles.

Larvae, pupae and eggs of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus were found in Freiburg, southern Germany, after submission of an adult mosquito specimen from that area to the ‘Mückenatlas’, a German instrument of passive mosquito surveillance. While previously collected Ae. albopictus in Germany were trapped on, or close to, service stations on motorways, suggesting introduction by vehicles from southern Europe, these new specimens were out of flight distance from the motorway on the one hand and indicate local reproduction on the other. The findings call for a thorough active and passive surveillance in exposed geographic regions such as the relatively warm German Upper Rhine Valley to prevent Ae. albopictus from establishing.

In September 1991, the first breeding populations of Aedes albopictus were discovered in Veneto Region, Italy. Larvae were collected in a wide variety of peridomestic containers and in used tires. Attempts were made to eradicate this species from infested areas. No larvae or adults of Ae. albopictus were found from October 1991 onwards. It is not yet assessed if this was because of the control measures taken or due to the low fall temperatures and the short critical photoperiod prevailing in the area (L:D, 12:45). Since tire casings are believed to be the primary mode of introduction and dispersal of Ae. albopictus, an investigation of tire retreading operations was initiated to determine the source and mode of introduction of Ae. albopictus into Italy.

In the summer of 2005, Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Stegomyia albopicta in Reinert et al., 2004) was found inside and around three different horticultural companies near Aalsmeer in the Netherlands. The species was identified both by morphology and ITS2-DNA sequencing. Although a few adults were also found outdoors, it remains unclear whether these were “escapees” or if indeed the species is reproducing outdoors in or near the site of introduction. This record constitutes the northernmost finding of Ae. albopictus in Europe to date at 52 o N. The introduction is associated with the import of Dracaena plants, colloquially known as ‘lucky bamboo’, from China.

The 1st record of Aedes albopictus in Belgium was made in a village in Oost-Vlaanderen Province. Two preimaginal stages were collected on October 31, 2000, in the used tire stock of a recycling company that imports tires from the USA and Japan. The species has reproduced on site, and local environmental conditions make its establishment possible. Anopheles plumbeus was a common companion species found in tires in high densities.

The invasive mosquito Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) was detected for the first time in Spain, in Sant Cugat del Vallès, a city in the north-east of the country (41 degrees 28′ N, 2 degrees 4′ E, altitude 120 m), during August 2004. A male and one larva were collected in the backyard of a house and in a tree hole, respectively. Dense populations of adults and larvae were found in subsequent surveys, confirming the establishment of the species in the area. This is the first report of the establishment of this species in the Iberian Peninsula.