Abstract
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus has undergone a dramatic expansion of its range in the last few decades. Since its first detection in 2007 in Germany at the motorway A5 coming from Italy via Switzerland to Germany, it has been continuously introduced by vehicles, most probably from Italy. After a hint from an alert gardener in an allotment garden area in Freiburg, Southwest Germany, in 2015, a surveillance programme was started focusing on the garden area and adjacent areas as well as most of the cemeteries as potential infestation areas. The surveillance programme confirmed a high infestation of the allotment garden. The container index (CI) exceeded almost 30% in August 2015. In lethal gravid Aedes traps (GATs) and BG-Sentinel traps, 4038 adults were caught. It could be proven that the Aedes population is more or less still spatially restricted to the allotment garden area which is adjacent to a train station where trucks from Novara, Italy, arrive loaded on trains. Outside the garden area, only a few breeding sites with developmental stages and adults were found within a radius of approximately 600 m from the highly infested garden area. It is most likely that Ae. albopictus females are constantly introduced as ‘blind passengers’ to Freiburg via trucks from Italy to Freiburg, Germany. After the first detection of the mass development of Ae. albopictus immediate and comprehensive control measures were initiated to reduce or even eliminate the Aedes population. Citizen awareness, especially of the gardeners, was increased by providing thorough information about the biology and control of Ae. albopictus. Beside environmental management, tablets based on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) were applied. The success of the control activities by the gardeners is reflected by the data gained during monthly inspection of the garden plots. The number of gardens without any container increased from 17% in July to 22% in August and 35% in September, 2015, resulting in a successful reduction of the Ae. albopictus population. The study underlines the importance of a comprehensive surveillance programme to assess the population density of Ae. albopictus as a basis for integrated control activities.
Highlights
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1895), originating from Southeast Asia, has undergone a dramatic expansion of its range in the last few decades (Hawley 1988; Cornel and Hunt 1991; Moore and Mitchell 1997; Benedict et al 2007; Medlock et al 2012, 2015)
Ae. albopictus possesses a high ecological potency and can rapidly adapt to new habitats due to its genetic plasticity. This species has spread from tropical regions to areas with temperate climates which do not allow a constant follow-up of generations, e.g. during winter periods
In the course of the surveillance programme, it was proven that a large population of Ae. albopictus developed in the garden area in 2015
Summary
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1895), originating from Southeast Asia, has undergone a dramatic expansion of its range in the last few decades (Hawley 1988; Cornel and Hunt 1991; Moore and Mitchell 1997; Benedict et al 2007; Medlock et al 2012, 2015). The species goes through a winter diapause during which the larvae in the eggs are not able to hatch and remain in the eggshell until the living conditions allow further development Another important behavioural factor that favours the spread is that Ae. albopictus has no strict host preference for blood meals. Adult females predominantly feed on humans but may bite other mammals including rabbits, dogs, cows and squirrels or occasionally avian hosts This feeding behaviour indicates that Ae. albopictus is well suited for transmitting a variety of arboviruses that use mammals and birds as their main hosts (Mitchell 1995; Gratz 2004)
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