Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
19 07 2018
The extremely long dry season has decimated the number of mosquitoes in many regions of Germany. However, it may soon be buzzing in many regions, as heavy rainfall with warmth is ideal for mosquitoes.
"In the long dry phase many female mosquitoes carried their finished eggs in themselves and looked for ways to put them down," says Doreen Walther from the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (Zalf) in M?ncheberg near Berlin. After storms in many places they could and can do that. The development from the oviposition to the stinging mosquito lasts about two weeks at 25 degrees Celsius, says Walther. In other mosquitoes, the females lay their eggs in moist places, and the offspring develops only when it is flooded. Either way: "We will soon have extensive mosquito populations in many regions," says Walther.
Among them are more and more newcomers, of which two species are particularly significant. "The tropical tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has wintered in three states: Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Thuringia," said Walther. The Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus), which also tolerates colder climates, has already populated regions in nine federal states. Proven for the first time in 2008 in Baden-W?rttemberg, it has already reached as far as Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), no transmission of dengue, Chikungunya or West Nile viruses has been reported by mosquitoes in Germany. However, the RKI annually registers hundreds of people returning with dengue fever, which often runs asymptomatic, but can also lead to severe muscle pain, bleeding, and - very rarely - to death. In addition, several dozen return travelers are reported with Chikungunya fever, which causes severe joint pain.
German States
classicwoodworks - free printable maps
The extremely long dry season has decimated the number of mosquitoes in many regions of Germany. However, it may soon be buzzing in many regions, as heavy rainfall with warmth is ideal for mosquitoes.
"In the long dry phase many female mosquitoes carried their finished eggs in themselves and looked for ways to put them down," says Doreen Walther from the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (Zalf) in M?ncheberg near Berlin. After storms in many places they could and can do that. The development from the oviposition to the stinging mosquito lasts about two weeks at 25 degrees Celsius, says Walther. In other mosquitoes, the females lay their eggs in moist places, and the offspring develops only when it is flooded. Either way: "We will soon have extensive mosquito populations in many regions," says Walther.
Among them are more and more newcomers, of which two species are particularly significant. "The tropical tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has wintered in three states: Bavaria, Baden-W?rttemberg and Thuringia," said Walther. The Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus), which also tolerates colder climates, has already populated regions in nine federal states. Proven for the first time in 2008 in Baden-W?rttemberg, it has already reached as far as Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), no transmission of dengue, Chikungunya or West Nile viruses has been reported by mosquitoes in Germany. However, the RKI annually registers hundreds of people returning with dengue fever, which often runs asymptomatic, but can also lead to severe muscle pain, bleeding, and - very rarely - to death. In addition, several dozen return travelers are reported with Chikungunya fever, which causes severe joint pain.
German States
classicwoodworks - free printable maps