Optical recognition of the eggs of four Aedine mosquito species ( < i > Aedes albopictus < /i > , < i > Aedes geniculatus < /i > , < i > Aedes japonicus < /i > , and < i > Aedes koreicus < /i > )

by Nikoleta Anicic, Klaus Steigmiller, Claude Renaux, Damiana Ravasi, Matteo Tanadini, Eleonora Flacio The continuous expansion of exotic Aedine mosquito species potential vectors of pathogens into new areas is a public health concern. In continental Europe, the surveillance of these mosquitoes is hindered by the simultaneous presence of three main invasive species (i.e.,Aedes albopictus,Ae.japonicus, andAe.koreicus). Standard low-cost surveillance methods (i.e., the deployment of oviposition traps and count of eggs under stereoscopic microscope) fail to distinguish the eggs of the different species. Identification of eggs by molecular methods is costly and time consuming and prevents measuring the density of invasive species and detecting early new invaders. Here we tested whether certain species could be identified by the patterns on the exochorionic membrane of their eggs. In a first step, we examined Aedine eggs of the three mentioned invasive and one indigenous (i.e.,Ae.geniculatus) species with a high-resolution stereomicroscope and we identified each egg by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In a second step, we submitted images of the eggs to 60 entomology experts and non-experts and tested their ability to distinguish among the species after an initial short training. The results obtained were consistent. Participants did not encounter difficulties in determiningAe.albopictus andAe.geniculatus, while they had more difficulties in distinguishingAe.japonicus fromAe.koreicus...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research