title: First mass development of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)-its surveillance and control in Germany.
abstract: The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus has undergone a dramatic expansion of its range in the last few decades. Since its first detection in 2007 in Germany at the motorway A5 coming from Italy via Switzerland to Germany, it has been continuously introduced by vehicles, most probably from Italy. After a hint from an alert gardener in an allotment garden area in Freiburg, Southwest Germany, in 2015, a surveillance programme was started focusing on the garden area and adjacent areas as well as most of the cemeteries as potential infestation areas. The surveillance programme confirmed a high infestation of the allotment garden. The container index (CI) exceeded almost 30% in August 2015. In lethal gravid Aedes traps (GATs) and BG-Sentinel traps, 4038 adults were caught. It could be proven that the Aedes population is more or less still spatially restricted to the allotment garden area which is adjacent to a train station where trucks from Novara, Italy, arrive loaded on trains. Outside the garden area, only a few breeding sites with developmental stages and adults were found within a radius of approximately 600 m from the highly infested garden area. It is most likely that Ae. albopictus females are constantly introduced as 'blind passengers' to Freiburg via trucks from Italy to Freiburg, Germany. After the first detection of the mass development of Ae. albopictus immediate and comprehensive control measures were initiated to reduce or even eliminate the Aedes population. Citizen awareness, especially of the gardeners, was increased by providing thorough information about the biology and control of Ae. albopictus. Beside environmental management, tablets based on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) were applied. The success of the control activities by the gardeners is reflected by the data gained during monthly inspection of the garden plots. The number of gardens without any container increased from 17% in July to 22% in August and 35% in September, 2015, resulting in a successful reduction of the Ae. albopictus population. The study underlines the importance of a comprehensive surveillance programme to assess the population density of Ae. albopictus as a basis for integrated control activities.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Dipterology (IfD)/KABS, Georg-Peter-Süß-Str. 3, 67346, Speyer, Germany. norbertfbecker@web.de.|Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. norbertfbecker@web.de.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4536-4257
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Environmental and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schön
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Environmental and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Institute for Dipterology (IfD)/KABS, Georg-Peter-Süß-Str. 3, 67346, Speyer, Germany.|Faculty of Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Hauptstraße 1, 79104, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ferstl
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kizgin
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 74, 20359, Hamburg, Germany.|German Centre for Infection Research, Partner site Hamburg-Borstel-Luebeck, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Egbert
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tannich
authors.affiliation: German Environment Agency (UBA), Bötticher Str. 2, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.affiliation: Institute for Dipterology (IfD)/KABS, Georg-Peter-Süß-Str. 3, 67346, Speyer, Germany.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pluskota
authors.affiliation: Institute for Dipterology (IfD)/KABS, Georg-Peter-Süß-Str. 3, 67346, Speyer, Germany.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jöst
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods*; D011156:Population Density; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: Aedes albopictus; Germany; Mass development; Surveillance and control