First report of established population of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901) (Diptera, Culicidae) in the Netherlands

Abstract

In January 2013, a female mosquito collected during the week 18-25 July 2012 in Lelystad (The Netherlands) during routine national vector surveillance was morphologically identified and genetically confirmed as the Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus. In order to assess the extent of the infestation area, subsequent extensive mosquito surveillance in the surrounding area during 2013 consisted of visual inspection of potential habitats and adult trapping in increasing radially around the location of the initial finding. This surveillance confirmed the existence of a widely established population of Ae. j. japonicus in the municipality of Lelystad. Despite this detection, it was decided not to implement any mosquito control measures for two reasons: this would require large scale biocidal treatment and community participation in order to be effective, and this species is not a confirmed vector of disease agents in the field. As an alternative, it was decided that community information would be provided to enable management measures such as larval habitat source reduction. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association 32: 9-13, 2014