Asian Mosquito Arrives to Spain
The Threat of the Tiger Mosquito
El Mundo
September 13, 2005
Madrid.- It is 5 milimetres long, black with white stripes, and lives in swamp areas, it stings and, differently to its "cousin" the common mosquito, it only
stings during the day and can even pierce clothes. Despite its habitat being Asia,
it arrived in Catalonia one year ago and it's starting to expand throughout Spain.
It is known as
mosquito tigre (
Aedes albopictus), and was detected in Catalonia for the first time, in Sant Cugat del Valles, in August 2004. This mosquito adds to the invading species already here like the American mink, the tiger mussle, the malvasia jaimacensis duck, or the Argentine parrot.
"After the experience
in Italy, where this mosquito is much extended, there are many probabilities that it propagates throughout Spain, except for the desertic areas, as it cannot survive in them", explained Roger Eritja, Entomologist from the service for the control of mosquitos of Baix Llobregat (Barcelona), and pioneer in the search for this insect in Spain.
The difficulties to exterminate the insect, against which the bacteria Bacillus thurigensis and metalic copper are used, lies in that
it is a species with a high rate of adaptability.
It can live in a rural or urban environment without distinction, wherever there may be abandoned containers with water and shady areas where there is water from rain or gardening.
In the big cities, warned Eritja, they can appear in areas like cemeteries, where the flower jars are a "perfect place" to lay their larvae.
The tiger mosquito lays between 40 and 80 eggs each time, in places with some water as this is where they will go through the process until turning adults.
The main different of this mosquito with the common mosquito is that the tiger mosquito flies and attacks its victims during the day, and at night it hides in the vegetation.
It doesn't fly far away from the place where it lays the eggs.
It is nearly impossible to avoid the stingings from this mosquito, which are usually in the legs and are very aggresive and persistent, and they provoke strong pain and inflamations as well as alergical reactions.
Transmitter of diseases
The risk of propagation resides in that
it can become, like it has already happened in South East Asia,
a transmitter of dengue and yellow fever, as well as transmitting virical diseases to animals.
The tiger mosquito was described for the first time at the end of the XIXth century, and it originates from a wide area with its limits in Japan, India, New Guinea and Madagascar, although there exists data of its presence in Europe, in Albania, from the late 70s.
It arrived to the US in the mid 80s and it has extended since through 26 states, while
in Italy it was detected in 1990 the first time, and has already expanded throughout two thirds of the country.
With regards to its origins, it is not known how it arrived to Catalonia but since they only fly between 100 and 150 metres, speculations are that it arrived in Italy with the international transport of second hand pneumatics, in an habitat which was the ideal for them since it has plenty of vegetal material in decomposition accumulated.
In Spain there live various species of mosquitos which have similar habits to that of the tiger mosquito, and for this reason Eritja suggests that if in doubt, people should pick a sample and send them in a container, without alcohol or other preservers, to the Service for the Control of Mosquitos of Baix Llobregat (Barcelona), or to the Labs of Entomology of Majadahonda (Madrid).
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