Insects (2021) 12 (2 - 110)

Georgios Balatsos, Arianna Puggioli, Vasileios Karras, Ioanna Lytra, George Mastronikolos, Marco Carrieri, Dimitrios P. Papachristos, Marco Malfacini, Angeliki Stefopoulou, Charalampos S. Ioannou, Fabrizio Balestrino, Jérémy Bouyer, Dusan Petric, Igor Pajovic, Apostolos Kapranas, Nikos T. Papadopoulos, Panagiotis G. Milonas, Romeo Bellini and Antonios Michaelakis (2021)
Reduction in egg fertility of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in Greece following releases of imported sterile males
Insects 12 (2 - 110)
Abstract: Aedes albopictus, an invasive mosquito species, is currently well established in many European countries, posing high risks to human health. A preliminary trial using repetitive releases of irradiated sterile male mosquitoes was designed, implemented and evaluated for the first time in Greece. The main scope of this trial was to investigate the efficacy of sterile insect technique (SIT) on wild population egg hatch rate in Greece using mass-produced sterile male mosquitoes from another country (Italy). The study was conducted in Vravrona area, close to Athens International Airport (Attica Region). The number of eggs laid in ovitraps was similar in all intervention and control plots. However, a significant reduction in egg hatch rate was recorded in the SIT plot in comparison with both control plots starting two weeks after the first release. This trial validates the logistics (transportation, releases handling and monitoring) as a major step towards implementing efficient, environmentally safe control approaches as an additional tool against the invasive Aedes species in Greece and more widely in Europe.
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Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Arianna Puggioli, Marco Carrieri, Dimitrios P. Papachristos, Jérémy Bouyer, Dusan Petric, Apostolos Kapranas, Nikos T. Papadopoulos, Panagiotis G. Milonas

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aedes albopictus		Greece