Investigation of temperature conditions in Swiss urban and suburban microhabitats for the overwintering suitability of diapausing Aedes albopictus eggs

Ravasi, Damiana and Guidi, Valeria and Flacio, Eleonora and Lüthy, Peter and Perron, Karl and Lüdin, Samuele and Tonolla, Mauro (2018) Investigation of temperature conditions in Swiss urban and suburban microhabitats for the overwintering suitability of diapausing Aedes albopictus eggs. Parasites & vectors, 11. p. 212. ISSN 1756-3305

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10.1186/s13071-018-2803-y - Published Version

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Abstract

In Switzerland, the invasive Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is firmly established in the Canton of Ticino, south of the Alps. According to a large-scale distribution model developed in 2013, suitable climatic conditions for the establishment of Ae. albopictus north of the Alps are found in Basel and Geneva while Zurich appears to be characterized by winters currently being too cold for survival of diapausing eggs. However, the spatial resolution of large-scale distribution models might not be sufficient to detect particular climatic conditions existing in urban settings, such as the presence of microclimatic temperatures, which may positively influence the probability of diapausing eggs to overwinter. In order to investigate this, microclimatic monitoring of potential diapausing sites (i.e. catch basins) and external controls was performed in January 2017 in Ticino and within the cities of Basel, Geneva and Zurich.

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