LifeWatch - Biodiversity Day 2021
BopCo will be present at the LifeWatch Biodiversity Day, which will be held 28th October 2021 in Ghent.
BopCo will be present at the LifeWatch Biodiversity Day, which will be held 28th October 2021 in Ghent.
BopCo will be present at the 10th European Mosquito Control Association (EMCA) International Conference, which will be held in Vienna (Austria) from 3rd to the 7th of October 2021.
Between 2017 and 2020, larvae, pupae, and adults of Culiseta longiareolata were found at distinct locations in Belgium and the Netherlands. Collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified and the identification was then validated by BopCo using COI DNA barcoding. These are the first records for this species, which might be a potential vector of bird pathogens (e.g., West Nile virus), in Belgium and the Netherlands.
On March 25 an article entitled “Population genetic structure of the Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus (Diptera, Culicidae), in Belgium suggests multiple introductions” was published by Parasites & Vectors.
In 2018, a Culex larva was collected during routine monitoring activities to intercept exotic Aedes mosquito species in the port of Antwerp (Kallo, Belgium). The larva, collected from a pond in mid-September, was morphologically identified as Culex modestus, and this identification was confirmed using COI barcoding by BopCo. It is the first confirmed record of this West Nile virus bridge vector, Culex modestus, in Belgium. The present study also demonstrates the value of DNA-based identification techniques to validate the presence of potential vector species.