Abstract
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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker N (2008) Influence of climate change on mosquito development and mosquito-borne diseases in Europe. Parasitol Res 103(Suppl 1):S19–S28
Becker N, Geier M, Balczun C, Bradersen U, Huber K, Kiel E, Krüger A, Lühken R, Orendt C, Plenge-Bönig A, Rose A, Schaub GA, Tannich E (2013) Repeated introduction of Aedes albopictus into Germany, July to October 2012. Parasitol Res 112:1787–1790
Caminade C, Medlock JM, Ducheyne E, McIntyre KM, Leach S, Baylis M, Morse AP (2012) Suitability of European climate for the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus: recent trends and future scenarios. J R Soc Interface 9:2708–2717
ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) (2012) Guidelines for the surveillance of invasive mosquito species in Europe. ECDC Technical Report, Stockholm
Gratz NG (2004) Critical review of the vector status of Aedes albopictus. Med Vet Entomol 18:215–227
Kampen H, Zielke D, Werner D (2012) A new focus of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald 1901) (Diptera, Culicidae) distribution in western Germany: Rapid spread or a further introduction event? Parasit Vectors 5:284
Kampen H, Kronefeld M, Zielke D, Werner D (2013) Further specimens of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera, Culicidae) trapped in southwest Germany. Parasitol Res 112:905–907
Kampen H, Medlock JM, Vaux AGC, Koenraadt CJM, van Vliet AJH, Bartumeus F, Oltra A, Sousa CA, Chouin S, Werner D (2014) Approaches to passive mosquito surveillance in the EU. Parasit Vectors, submitted
Medlock JM, Hansford KM, Schaffner F, Versteirt V, Hendrickx G, Zeller H, Van Bortel W (2012) A review of the invasive mosquitoes in Europe: Ecology, public health risks, and control options. Vector-Borne Zoon Dis 12:435–447
Neteler M, Metz M, Rocchini D, Rizzoli A, Flacio E, Engeler L, Guidi V, Lüthy P, Tonolla M (2013) Is Switzerland suitable for the invasion of Aedes albopictus? PLoS One 8:e82090
Pluskota B, Storch V, Braunbeck T, Beck M, Becker N (2008) First record of Stegomyia albopicta (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Germany. Eur Mosq Bull 26:1–5
Schaffner F, Boulétreau B, Guillet B, Guilloteau J, Karch S (2001) Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) established in metropolitan France. Eur Mosq Bull 9:1–3
Schaffner F, Medlock JM, Van Bortel W (2013) Public health significance of invasive mosquitoes in Europe. Clin Microbiol Infect 19:685–692
Scholte EJ, Jacobs F, Linton YM, Dijkstra E, Fransen J, Takken W (2007) First record of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in the Netherlands. Eur Mosq Bull 22:5–9
Šebesta O, Rudolf I, Betášová L, Peško J, Hubálek Z (2012) An invasive mosquito species Aedes albopictus found in the Czech Republic, 2012. Euro Surveill 17:20301
Thomas SM, Obermayr U, Fischer D, Kreyling J, Beierkuhnlein C (2012) Low-temperature threshold for egg survival of a post-diapause and non-diapause European aedine strain, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasit Vectors 5:100
Turell MJ, Dohm DJ, Sardelis MR, O’Guinn ML, Andreadis TG, Blow JA (2005) An update on the potential of North American mosquitoes to transmit West Nile virus. J Med Entomol 42:57–62
Werner D, Kampen H (2013) The further spread of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera, Culicidae) towards northern Germany. Parasitol Res 112:3665–3668
Werner D, Kronefeld M, Schaffner F, Kampen H (2012) Two invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus japonicus, trapped in south-west Germany, July to August 2011. Euro Surveill 17:20067
Acknowledgments
The ‘Mückenatlas’ is part of a mosquito monitoring project financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) through the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), grant number 2810HS022. We are grateful to Adrian Pont, Oxford University Museum for Natural History, for critically reading the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Werner, D., Kampen, H. Aedes albopictus breeding in southern Germany, 2014. Parasitol Res 114, 831–834 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4244-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4244-7