CITIZEN SCIENCE AND ASIAN TIGER MOSQUITO: A PILOT STUDY ON PROCIDA ISLAND, A POSSIBLE MEDITERRANEAN SITE FOR MOSQUITO INTEGRATED VECTOR MANAGEMENT TRIALS

During the past twenty years, the number of research projects involving people not trained as scientists, the so-called citizen science, has increased consistently, including mosquito monitoring and contro! projects. The involvement of citizens in mosquito monitoring prograrnmes not only helps scientists during the data collection phase, but also raises public awareness on mosquito-transmitted diseases and educates citizens about virtuous behaviours that can help in reducing mosquito populations and their spread. The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopicts (Skuse) is an invasive species that became established in Europe starting in 1979, with Italy representing currently one ofthe most infested countries. Procida, a small Mediterranean island in the Naples gulf (Campania region, southem ltaly) has unique and very interesting features facilitating the field testing of mosquito integrated vector management (IVM) approaches and contro! methods, including the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). With the help ofthe local municipal administration, the Procida citizens are actively involved as volunteers in monitoring the seasonal and spatial distribution ofthe Asian tiger mosquito. The collected baselìne data will be useful to ìmplement a future island-wide integrated suppression trial of Ae. albopictus, including the release of sterile males, to be carried out in collaboration with the local municipal administration and with the technical support ofthe Joint FAO/IAEA Division in Vienna.