Track the Tiger: Unraveling Resting Site Preferences of Aedes albopictus in Occitania, France

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Mignotte, Antoine | Sutter, Céline | Bardy-Renard, Thibaut | Clauzon, Sophie | Lefèvre, Thierry | Lutrat, Célia | Oliva, Clélia | Damiens, David | Delachavonnery, François | Lacour, Guillaume | Simard, Frédéric

Edité par CCSD -

International audience. The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, thrives in urban environments by exploiting artificial containers for larval breeding. Despite the importance of adult mosquitoes’ resting sites for public health preventative and curative measures, limited attention has been given to their exploration in temperate and European contexts. Correlations have been reported between vegetation and vector density at different developmental stages, but the role of urban vegetation elements, as resting sites for mosquito populations, remains uncertain. This study offers a thorough examination of adult Aedes albopictus resting sites at a detailed level. Our objectives encompass: (i) identifying and characterizing resting sites, (ii) phenotypic profiling of mosquito populations occupying these sites, and (iii) establishing standardized indicators to enhance targeted preventive and reactive control strategies.We studied 72 resting sites across a 100-hectare village, including natural and artificial habitats. During almost 1300 resting site sampling replicates local and global climatic conditions (temperature, wind, humidity, etc.) and vegetation characteristics were recorded. Our capture method combines 5-minute human aspiration technique, followed by 1 minute 30 seconds of aspiration per resting site. Dissections of adult mosquitoes allowed us to observe key anatomical markers indicating vector age structure, including ovarian follicle development, parity, and spermatheca fillings in females, and genitalia rotation in males.We demonstrate significant effects of resting site type on mosquito capture probability and abundance. Additionally, the presence of males was found to impact female capture probability. Habitat type exhibited a significant influence on mosquito sex ratio, with certain habitats favoring young or mature female mosquitoes.These results are complemented by ground releases of batches of coloured sterile male mosquitoes to better document resting site preferences and dispersal patterns. Identifying preferred resting sites will help vector control operators, modelers, and decision-makers adjust strategies for more effective public health management of Aedes albopictus in the area.

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