The further spread of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera, Culicidae) towards northern Germany

Abstract

After its first detection in 2008 in the south German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, another distinct population of the invasive Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus was unexpectedly found in western Germany in 2012. Range expansion had already been observed for the southern German population and was anticipated for the western German one. Here, we report on a third, apparently independent and even more northerly German colonization area of Aedes j. japonicus in southern Lower Saxony and northeastern North Rhine-Westphalia, which was discovered in spring 2013. In a snapshot study, intended to determine the presence or absence of Aedes j. japonicus in an area close to Hanover, the capital of the northern German federal state of Lower Saxony, where a specimen had been collected in late 2012, central water basins of cemeteries were checked for pre-imaginal mosquito stages at the beginning of the mosquito season 2013. Almost 20% of the inspected cemeteries were found positive (25 out of 129), with many of them being located in towns and villages close to the motorways A2 and A7. Being of Far Eastern origin, the Asian bush mosquito is well adapted to moderate climates and appears to be further expanding its distribution area in Central Europe. As it is a proven laboratory vector of several mosquito-borne disease agents, its present and future distribution areas should be carefully monitored.