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. 2021 Oct 14;14(1):534.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-05031-7.

Evidence for the spread of the alien species Aedes koreicus in the Lombardy region, Italy

Agata Negri #  1   2 , Irene Arnoldi #  3   4   2 , Matteo Brilli  1 , Claudio Bandi  1   2 , Paolo Gabrieli  5   6 , Sara Epis  7   8
Affiliations

Evidence for the spread of the alien species Aedes koreicus in the Lombardy region, Italy

Agata Negri et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Aedes koreicus is a mosquito species characterized by marked anthropophilic behavior, and a potential vector of nematodes and viruses. It is native to East Asia, but its presence has recently been reported in many regions of Europe. In Italy, these mosquitoes had been detected in the northeast since 2011 and are now spreading towards the southwest of the country.

Methods: In 2020, during a surveillance program for invasive mosquito species in the district of Bergamo (Lombardy Region, Italy), about 6000 mosquito larvae were collected. Emerged adults were assigned to mosquito species according to morphological analyses, followed by amplification and sequencing of genetic markers (COI, ND4, ITS2 and D2).

Results: According to the morphological and genetic data, about 50 individuals belonged to the species Ae. koreicus.

Conclusion: We report the presence of Ae. koreicus in the district of Bergamo, which confirms the spread of this species in the north of Italy and raises concerns about its possible role as a vector of diseases in the Alpine area.

Keywords: Aedes koreicus; Alien species; Invasive mosquitoes; Morphological and molecular identification.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Morphological features of Aedes koreicus larvae (a–c) and adult mosquitoes (d–i). The fourth-instar larva (a) carries setae with multiple branches in the frontal region of the head (b), while about 18 evenly spaced teeth are located on the siphonal pecten (c). Male (d) and female (e) adults show typical sexual dimorphism. The subspiracular area has a distinct patch of pale scales (f); the dark mesonotum harbors five defined lines forming a peculiar pattern with yellowish-brown or golden-yellow scales (g); the posterior femurs are characterized by a completely pale base (h), and the hind tarsomere IV shows the typical pale basal band (i)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Phylogenetic trees for D2, ND4, ITS sequence data. Trees were built using PhyML, with automatic model selection, gamma distribution rates (discretized using four categories) and an estimated proportion of invariant sites. Node support was obtained by running 1000 bootstrap replicates. Models selected by SMS (Smart Model Selection) were HKY85 (ND4), K80 (ITS) and GTR (D2). Mosquito species found in Europe, and particularly in Italy, are tagged with the respective national flag. Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus and Ae. koreicus are invasive species (red point), while Ochlerotatus diantaeus, Och. intrudens, Och. dorsalis, Och. caspius, Och. punctor and Och. excrucians are native species (green point)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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