The tiger mosquito, Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse 1894), which in Catalonia has lived
with us for more than 10 years, is an important transmitter of viral diseases.
In the public ambit of our cities, it is found in the rainwater collecting catch basins, which are
their main breeding sites.
In the province of Girona, there is the “Program to support the management of the risks
derived from the presence of the tiger mosquito” created to control the proliferation of this
species. The present study is framed within this program, specifically, in the elaboration of a
cartography of the potential breeding sites of the tiger mosquito that is made for each
municipality. With this tool, the town councils can carry out control actions of the species,
based mainly on the application of larvicide in each map point.
The present work aims to improve the methodology as well as apply it to new municipalities
that have requested the program. A pilot test has been carried out with 6 municipalities, which
has allowed to determine the most suitable methodology, working directly with a geographic
information system (QGis) in the field. With this new method, which collects much more
information from each catch basin, 7760 have been mapped in 40 different municipalities. In
this way, each municipality receives a map with a simple code of 3 colors, which classifies
the catch basins according to their level of associated risk. 55% of them have a high level of
risk because they contain water inside them.
In order to determine the average water volume of a catch basin, 60 catch basins have been
analyzed in 6 municipalities throughout the year. A volume of 14 liters with a standard
deviation of 9.86 liters has been obtained. Analyzing the volume in the different zones, it has
been verified that it is constant during the months of activity of the tiger mosquito. Also, data
from a study did in 2011 in 15 municipalities have been analyzed. Of the 37 samplings
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