Seasonal monitoring of Aedes albopictus: practical applications and outcomes

Abstract

The introduction of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes (Stegomya) albopictus (Skuse, 1897) (Diptera: Culicidae) into temperate regions poses serious concerns for the risk of the spreading of arboviral epidemics, as confirmed by the chikungunya fever outbreak, in Italy. Integrated wide-sized ovitrap monitoring is a helpful tool in any good pest-control strategy. The Ae. albopictus population dynamics were monitored over a four-year period in the town of Pesaro (Marche, Italy), using 60 ovitraps. Twenty-day larvicide-based treatment cycles were implemented for the manholes of the urban area and also the inhabitants were involved in pest control relating to their own properties. The weekly median of eggs laid was reduced from 2008 to 2011, which indicated the good performance of the vector control and a reduction in the related epidemics risk. The monitoring system adopted is described here, and proposed as a cost-effective and available system for extensive vector surveillance