Laboratory colonization and biological data of Aedes koreicus

Aedes koreicus (Hulecoeteomyia koreica)*, an invasive mosquito species in Europe, occurs in Belgium and in Italy since 2008 and 2011, respectively. While Aedes koreicus is established in a limited area in Belgium, it is currently spreading in the northern Italy. However, the biology and the ecology of this species remain poorly known and yet, further investigations are warranted to assess its invasion capacity in Europe. Moreover, competition with other container breeding mosquitoes, as Aedes albopictus (Stegomyia albopicta)*, has to be tested. Therefore, a laboratory colony of Aedes koreicus has been established with the aim to assess the effect of different biotic and abiotic parameters, such as temperature, diet, larval density and/or presence of a competitive species, on the development of this species under laboratory conditions. At the beginning, we faced several issues to obtain a viable colony such as the absence of free mating and the dessication of eggs. Here, we described the protocol and the different approaches used to improve its rearing including induced copulation technique. Preliminary experiments showed that the developmental time (from first instar larva to adult) of Aedes koreicus females (15.0 ± 0.14 days) was longer than Aedes albopictus females (12.8 ± 0.18 days) at 23 ± 1°C with a 16L:8D photoperiod. For Aedes koreicus, comparison between a rich diet and a poor diet showed that a rich diet decreased the developmental time (15 ± 0.14 vs. 18 ± 0.22 days) and increased the wing length of the females (4.32 ± 0.012 vs. 3.64 ± 0.018 mm). Now, experiments are ongoing to better understanding the biology of Aedes koreicus and to evaluate its competition with Aedes albopictus. *newly named are in parenthesis