The Community of Madrid deploys an organic campaign in November fight against tiger mosquitoes installation of 120 bat shelters. This is a technique recognized as a complementary measure in the fight against harmful insects.
Bats, mammals of the genus Pipistrellusadapt very well to this type of housing and are of great help, because they can consume between 1,000 and 3,000 mosquitoes in a single daythus helping to prevent its spread.
The tiger mosquitoAedes albopictus) is a species of nematoceran dipteran belonging to the family Culicidae which has already been detected in Madrid. Gifts diurnal habits with peaks at dusk and dawnband of greatest bat activity. Therefore, these spaces are particularly indicated in the rural-urban interface, green and landscaped spaces.
Location in Madrid
The Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Madrid Region, through the General Directorate of Biodiversity and Forest Management, will place a total of 40 boxes in the municipalities of Rivas Vaciamadrid and Velilla de San Antonio, considered the most affectedand 20 others in Aranjuez and Perales de Tajuña, with the presence of tiger mosquitoes detected.
The precise location is determined after consultation with the General Directorate of Public Health on the points of greatest conflict for these insects, look for places where bats can occupy the boxeswhich have their own conditions of height, orientation or barrier-free access, among others.
Exotic and invasive species
The tiger mosquito is a species of mosquito that is on the list of the 100 most harmful invasive alien species in the world. It is about a black insect, with black and white striped legs and a white design on the abdomenwith a size of up to 10 millimeters and a thin, elongated proboscis, which it uses to sting and extract blood from its victims, which can be humans or animals.
THE appearance in various geographical points in Spain has led to an extremely dangerous situation because it potentially carries diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or Zika viruses.
Dengue transmitter
In the case of dengue feveris a viral infection transmitted by this type of mosquitoes. In its serious condition, it represents one of the leading causes of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries.
The dengue virus can be transmitted by the tiger mosquito. invasive species from Southeast Asia and detected for the first time in Spain in 2004 in Catalonia.
Since then, this species managed to colonize, among other things, urban environments throughout the Mediterranean arc: from Catalonia to Andalusia, also passing through the Balearic Islands, as well as the north of the peninsula in communities like Aragon, Navarra, the Basque Country or Galicia, and increasingly inland areas , like the Community of Madrid.
Installation in Spain
The forecasts are not good and entomologists no longer confirm not only expansive trend tiger mosquitoes, but their definitive installation in the next five years in each of the autonomous communities of Spain, which is why the Community of Madrid has launched its plan.
For Martina Ferraguti, researcher in conservation biology and global change at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), “these tiny insects, in addition to being a great nuisance for many of us, They are the deadliest animals that exist on our planet due to the multitude of pathogens that they are capable of transmitting.
Ecological and evolutionary factors
The researcher, focused on studying the impact of biodiversity on diseases transmitted by these insects, explains in an article published by Greenpeace that “mosquitoes, with their numerous species, play a crucial role as vectors, c ‘that is to say like disease carriers which affect both humans and wildlife.
In his research, Ferragutti tries to understand whats ecological and evolutionary factors that affect the transmission of vector-borne diseases.
He points out that “although there are thousands of species (around 3,700 species and over 40 genera), it is interesting to note that only a small percentage of them, less than 10% are responsible for the transmission of pathogens harmful to human health. “This fact highlights the need to focus our research on particular species of mosquito vectors.”
