Status of Aedes japonicus in the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, Minnesota.

ABSTRACT. The Asian exotic mosquito Aedes japonicus was 1st collected in Minnesota in 2007 and was well established in parts of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) by 2008. Surveillance strategies were devised for 2009 to track the expansion of its range through MMCD and to direct control efforts. Sampling of larvae from container and tire habitats was the primary method used to document Ae. japonicus presence, but larvae were found in other habitats as well. Adult Ae. japonicus were collected by vacuum aspirator, gravid trap, and New Jersey trap but not by CO2-baited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light trap. Aedes japonicus were collected from each of the 7 counties surveyed; in 5 of the counties for the 1st time in 2009. Preliminary findings suggest that a control strategy involving intensive source reduction can reduce Ae. japonicus populations.

First collection records of Aedes japonicus in Minnesota.

Aedes japonicus was first identified in the eastern United States during 1998 and has since spread to locations west of the Mississippi River. This species was found in Minnesota for the first time during 2007 at a tire recycling facility in Scott County and was identified during 2008 at 43 locations in 4 additional Minnesota counties south and east of the initial finding. These records document the presence of Ae. japonicus in 5 counties of southeastern Minnesota and indicate that the species overwinters locally.