2023-05-23 16:18:29
The tiger mosquito hunting is launched in the metropolis of Montpellier, in the municipality of Murviel-lès-Montpellier. A research project has been launched for two years by the private company Altopictus (specialist in tiger mosquitoes), the Montpellier Institute of Research for Development and the Montpellier start-up Terratis (initiator of the Sterile Insect Technique) .
About ten people will be on site from May to November, when the insect proliferates. We know how to spot them when they bite us. We know where the females lay their eggs, in the water. The purpose of the experiment is to find where adult females are sheltering to rest, where they are the rest of the time.
Search in bushes and vegetation
The team dedicated to the project will mainly look in the vegetation, in bushes, under piles of wood. In the public space and in the garden of local residents. “We are going to sample with a butterfly net, with a vacuum cleaner. We shake the vegetation to disturb them and we are going to suck up what flies away. We are also going to cover certain parts with mosquito nets to sample as well as possible and mosquito populations as comprehensively as possible.” explains Frédéric Simard, research director at the IRD (Research Institute for Development) in Montpellier.
Once researchers spot where the tiger mosquitoes are resting, it will be easier to eliminate them develops Frédéric Simard. “The fight against the tiger mosquito is done in two ways. By using insecticides when there is a risk of virus transmission. In this case, we will try to destroy the old females which are likely to harbor the virus. Knowing where they go to rest will allow us to properly target these interventions with insecticides and not treat the vegetation in the broad sense. And then there is also sterile insect control. When sterile males are released into the environment, the target is virgin females. We will also try to describe their habitat and ensure that the sterile males will be able to find these females.”
A public meeting takes place Thursday at 6.30 p.m. at the town hall of Murviel-lès-Montpellier to explain the project to local residents.
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