Draeculacephala robinsoni Hamilton, 1967 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), a newly introduced species and genus in Europe with comments on its identification.

For the first time in the Palaearctic Region, the New World leafhopper genus Draeculacephala Ball (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) has been recorded in France (Pyrenes-Orientales) and Spain (Catalonia). The species present in both countries is Draeculacephala robinsoni Hamilton 1967, among the most common and widespread species of the genus Draeculacephala in eastern North America. Comments on the identification of this species are presented. The species already seems to be firmly established in the region since it has been found in 11 different sites with a maximum distance of 86 km between them. Since the genus has been reported to be a vector of plant pathogens including Xylella fastidiosa its further spread in Europe should be closely monitored.

Bats actively prey on mosquitoes and other deleterious insects in rice paddies: Potential impact on human health and agriculture.

BACKGROUND: The fact that bats suppress agricultural pests has been measured for some particular dyads of predator and prey species in both economic and food security terms. The recent emergence of new molecular techniques allows for more precise screenings of bat's diet than the traditional visual identification systems and provides further evidence that bats consume an ample array of agricultural pest species. The main focus of the regulatory services that bats provide in agroecosystems has been on crop pests that cause yield losses. Rice paddies constitute a particular agronomic system with specific challenges, not only related to crop productivity but also to human health. Dipteran density in such ecosystems poses a serious threat to human wellbeing and hinders crop production. Mosquitoes cause direct harm to human populations, transmitting a number of infectious diseases. Non-biting midges (Chironomidae) can consume and weaken rice seedlings and can cause major yield losses. RESULTS: Mosquito populations and bat activity were assessed in rice paddies of Montgrí, Medes i Baix Ter Natural Park (NE Iberian Peninsula). Molecular analyses of bats faeces (6-weekly samples of 15 faeces each between mid-August and September) proved the presence of both mosquitoes and nonbiting midges in all diet samples. Furthermore, bat activity at the sampling locations was related to adult mosquito density. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that bats actively exploit the emergence of adult mosquitoes and further prove that they prey on mosquitoes, nonbiting midges and other deleterious insects. Promoting the presence of bats next to human settlements in such agroecosystems may constitute a biological control system with direct impact on both human health and crop yield. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Arbovirus surveillance: first dengue virus detection in local Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in Europe, Catalonia, Spain, 2015.

Dengue has emerged as the most important viral mosquito-borne disease globally. The current risk of dengue outbreaks in Europe appeared with the introduction of the vector Aedes albopictus mosquito in Mediterranean countries. Considering the increasing frequency of dengue epidemics worldwide and the movement of viraemic hosts, it is expected that new autochthonous cases will occur in the future in Europe. Arbovirus surveillance started in Catalonia in 2015 to monitor imported cases and detect possible local arboviral transmission. During 2015, 131 patients with a recent travel history to endemic countries were tested for dengue virus (DENV) and 65 dengue cases were detected. Twenty-eight patients with a febrile illness were viraemic, as demonstrated by a positive real-time RT-PCR test for DENV in serum samples. Entomological investigations around the viraemic cases led to the detection of DENV in a pool of local Ae. albopictus captured in the residency of one case. The sequence of the DENV envelope gene detected in the mosquito pool was identical to that detected in the patient. Our results show how entomological surveillance conducted around viraemic travellers can be effective for early detection of DENV in mosquitoes and thus might help to prevent possible autochthonous transmission.

Novel flaviviruses detected in different species of mosquitoes in Spain.

We report the characterization of three novel flaviviruses isolated in Spain. Marisma Mosquito virus, a novel mosquito borne virus, was isolated from Ochlerotatus caspius mosquitoes; Spanish Ochlerotatus flavivirus and Spanish Culex flavivirus, two novel insect flaviviruses, were isolated from Oc. caspius and Culex pipiens, respectively. During this investigation, we designed a sensitive RT-nested polymerase chain reaction method that amplifies a 1019bp fragment of the flavivirus NS5 gene and could be directly used in clinical or environmental samples for flavivirus characterization and surveillance. Analysis of the sequence generated from that amplicon contains enough phylogenetic information for proper taxonomic studies. Moreover, the use of this tool allowed the detection of additional flavivirus DNA forms in Culex, Culiseta, and Ochlerotatus mosquitoes.

Surveillance of arboviruses in Spanish wetlands: detection of new flavi- and phleboviruses.

The presence of viruses in arthropods in Spain has been studied over 5 years. Flaviviruses similar to cell-fusing agent, sequences of a flavivirus related to those transmitted by mosquitoes, and a phlebovirus similar to Naples and Toscana viruses were detected. Their potential human or animal pathogenicity should be studied.