Pest occurrence of Aedes rossicus close to the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden.

ABSTRACT

Major nuisance species are found among the floodwater mosquitoes and snow-pool mosquitoes, with the former being the main reason for mosquito control in most areas. Nuisance species vary with the area, and previous reports from northern areas conclude that the nuisance is most often caused by snow-pool mosquitoes. We investigated the mosquito fauna and abundances of host-seeking females using CDC traps baited with carbon dioxide, in Övertorneå city near the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, after earlier complaints about massive mosquito nuisance. The abundance of host-seeking female mosquitoes was high in 2014, with a maximum of ∼15,400 individuals per CDC trap night, of which 89% was the floodwater mosquito Aedes rossicus. Surprisingly, the main nuisance species was a floodwater mosquito, occurring at the northernmost location it has ever been recorded in Sweden. Our report is probably the first documentation of such large numbers of Aedes rossicus in any locality and probably the first documentation of a severe floodwater mosquito nuisance near the Arctic Circle. Given the historical data on river discharge in the area, the nuisance is recurrent. We conclude that in northern localities, as well as in more southern localities, production of floodwater mosquitoes is a natural component of the floodplain fauna of rivers with a fluctuating water flow regime. Also, the floodwater mosquitoes Aedes sticticus and Aedes vexans were found north of their formerly known distribution in Sweden.