Korean mosquito (Aedes koreicus)
Korean mosquito: most of the larvae between the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia are of this new species. The insect is more resistant to cold
Globalization and climate change also affect animals. The confirmation comes from a research conducted by the University of Milan on the Korean mosquito, more resistant to cold than the traditional one. First sighted in Belluno in 2011, the insect would be rapidly expanding throughout Northern Italy and could have arrived on board international flights landed at Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport.
During the summer of 2020, a surveillance program was put in place for sites at risk of introducing new invasive mosquitoes between the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia. The researchers collected 6,000 larvae and hundreds of eggs of these insects, which nest near waterholes, and many of them are actually Korean mosquitoes or Aedes koreicus, whose origin is identified on the South Korean volcanic island of the Jeju district. .
"The Korean mosquito is endemic in Japan, in northern China, in South Korea and in some areas of Russia. - explains to Ansa Sara Epis, professor of the Department of Biosciences and research coordinator - It was reported for the first time in Italy in 2011 in the province of Belluno, at altitudes and climatic conditions unsuitable for the survival of most species of mosquitoes. Since then the reports in Northern Italy have increased. We emphasize that this mosquito, unlike the known 'sisters' of the genus Aedes, like the tiger mosquito, tolerates low temperatures very well, so much so that it has already colonized a large hilly-mountainous area of Veneto and Trentino ".
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