Guess who’s coming home: insights into Aedes albopictus house-entering behaviour in Southern Europe
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction Aedes albopictus is an invasive species that has spread widely across Europe. In addition to being an irritating pest, it poses a significant public health threat due to its ability to transmit various arboviruses. Despite its biology and ecology having been extensively studied, quantitative evidence of its house-entering behaviour is lacking. We aimed to assess the degree of indoor housing occupancy through the first systematic monitoring of the indoor presence of Ae. albopictus in Europe. Methods Oviposition traps containing sticky cards were set up in the exterior and interior parts of eight houses in a residential area in eastern Spain. A structured questionnaire was administered to the residents to survey their perceptions of the presence of mosquitoes within their households. Results The traps mainly captured Ae. albopictus (96.7%), and a very limited number of Culex pipiens (3.7%). During the study period, 10.9% of Ae. albopictus females were found indoors. Temperatures were shown as the most important variable driving mosquito abundance based on a general additive mixed model (GAMM) and successive hierarchical partitioning. Annoyance was reported to be much higher outdoors than indoors. Discussion We demonstrated that Ae. albopictus consistently entered all sampled houses at a noticeable rate. The observed correlations between captures and seasonal temperature suggest a positive effect, indicating that global warming may increase mosquito indoor activity in the near future. Further research is needed to shed light on some knowledge gaps regarding the main drivers of house-entering behaviour of Ae. albopictus and its potential impact on public health.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7223118581