UTRECHT (ANP) – New DNA research shows how the Asian tiger mosquito spreads in the Netherlands. This offers a new tool in combating the mosquito, reports the NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit).
The Asian tiger mosquito can transmit diseases. The mosquito does not naturally occur in the Netherlands. However, it regularly enters our country, for example through the import of products or via travellers.
The researchers mapped whether there is a relationship between locations where a mosquito was found and individual mosquitoes. This makes it possible to determine whether the mosquitoes found are ‘new’ to our country because they hitched a ride from abroad. Else, they are descendants of a mosquito that was already here a year ago. This helps to keep track of the distribution and to combat the mosquito.
Overwintering
The research also showed that overwintering is possible. This was established at several locations (in a residential area and at a used tyre company). This provides information for effective monitoring and rapid control. Furthermore, it also becomes visible whether a population has completely disappeared after control—meaning the control was effective—or whether specimens have started a new population further away.
Researchers from the Centre for Vector Monitoring (CMV) at the Netherlands Institute for Vectors, Invasive Plants and Plant Health (NIVIP), part of the NVWA, developed and applied the method in collaboration with international research partners.
