In Strasbourg, 10 facts to know about mosquitoes!

We left. In addition, Like all summers, it’s the same hassle. As soon as you put a foot outside. Nevertheless, you enjoy a barbecue between friends, you admire a sunset or just snuggle up in a plaid, The Alsatians have a common enemy: mosquitoes. Meanwhile,

In recent years, it is even the tiger mosquito, the most vicious, which has plunged the summer atmosphere. The anti -mosquito bombs. strasbourg, 10 facts know about Similarly, the lemongrass candles quickly act as summer stars and these moments give way to all the discussions on this small bloodthirsty insect. Therefore, Besides. Similarly, A demoustication operation took place During the night of July 29 to 30 in Strasbourg and Truchtersheim after the discovery of a case of Zika. In addition,

« Turn off the lights », « I think it’s because I have sweet blood », « I read somewhere that it was just the females who stung »… Finally, we often know little strasbourg, 10 facts know about about mosquitoes. Additionally, In addition,

So, to shine during your next evenings, We went to request the help of an expert in the question, the researcher Éric Marois, specialized in the study of mosquito. However, He is responsible for research at Inserm (National Institute of Health. However, Medical Research) and works at IBMC (Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Strasbourg). Moreover, He studies the relationships between mosquitoes. Consequently, pathogens that they transmit to humans, in particular with the aim of fighting against these diseases. Moreover,

Let’s go for the questions and answers! Nevertheless,

Strasbourg, 10 facts know about

1. For example, Is the mosquito an invasive species? In addition, – Strasbourg, 10 facts know about

To start, When we talk about “mosquito, we make a coarse simplification because there are 3,729 species Described by science and all are obviously not invasive. Therefore, So when we ask this question. Similarly, we rather think of theaedes albopictusthe tiger mosquito, which is of course an extremely invasive species since it is from Southeast Asia. Therefore,

Thanks to human trade, it has spread on the surface of the globe, By being well helped by global warming which makes him proliferate much faster.

The mosquitoes take the bus, the truck, the cars and follow the road traffic lanes To emigrate and found new colonies. Their eggs travel to spaces that have been able to contain water.

There is, for example, international trafficking in used tires, transported by boat and often stored in outdoor storage spaces. They fill with water and mosquitoes lay in it. They are then loaded on a boat and arrive in new countries.

2. Will the tiger mosquito become the predominant species in France? – Strasbourg, 10 facts know about

Predominant, it will be possible locally, In places that are particularly favorable to it. SO mainly in town Since it is a mosquito that likes urban areas, in contact with humans. But this will not necessarily be the case in natural environments or around large cities.

3. Is it strasbourg, 10 facts know about true that some people are more stung than others?

Yes, it is recognized. On the other hand. it does not necessarily depend on the composition of the blood, but rather on the body smell, which itself depends on the microbes present on our skin. This is called the skin microbiota.

Some microbes will issue volatile compounds which are more or less attractive for mosquitoes. And according to these microbes, the smells will be different and more or less attractive for mosquitoes.

4. Is it only the bite females?

Yes, it’s true. They need this energy and the nutrients contained in the strasbourg, 10 facts know about blood to supply their development eggs in their ovaries.

When they do not need to lay, they are content to consume the nectar of flowers Or the sweet liquids that can sweat from vegetation, just like males.

5. It is true that Mosquitique is the most deadly animal species in the world?

Once again, You have to show nuance When we talk about the mosquito since there are a lot of species. It is a set of species that is responsible for nearly 750,000 dead per year.

strasbourg, 10 facts know about

Indeed, it is more than any other animal, including the human himself who kills “only” 400,000 of his fellow men each year. On the other hand, it is not the directly mosquito that kills, He does so by transmitting viruses and parasites. The worst parasite today. the one that makes the most deaths, is malaria, which affects the entire intertropical zone and especially sub -Saharan Africa.

6. Will chikungunya epidemics be possible in the coming years in France?

Yes, since the tiger mosquito is well installed in France. Each year, there are several hundred imported cases, who are people who return from the tropics with strasbourg, 10 facts know about the virus. If they are bitten by a tiger mosquito. he will then be able to prick another person and transmit the virus.

In recent years, There are more and more indigenous cases, That is to say people who have not traveled, but who were stung by a contaminated mosquito.

However, These epidemics could never be as terrible as in the tropics, Since in metropolitan France, we are still lucky to have a cold season and during this time, the transmission stops. This is not the case in overseas, as strasbourg, 10 facts know about in Reunion or in the Antilles.

7. One day, thanks to genetic changes, mosquitoes will no longer transmit diseases?

This is what we try to do anyway, but we cannot pretend that it will work 100%. We are hopeful of developing tools that would block certain diseases such as malaria or dengue. If we also manage to eradicate certain species of mosquitoes, the most vectors of diseases, we could block contamination. We are still far from the realization of these projects and it may be more complicated than on paper.

Today, we are working on genetic control methods that strasbourg, 10 facts know about use GMO mosquitoes or mosquitoes sterilized by X -rays, to release sterile males in the wild. These are techniques that are starting to be experienced in mainland France since this year. This is the kind of intervention that can counter an upcoming epidemic risk.

8. Is the mosquito a useless insect?

False, I wouldn’t say that. Any species has its place in the ecosystem. Mosquito larvae filter water. they participate in its purification, to make it clearer and therefore more favorable to the development of life forms. They also serve food strasbourg, 10 facts know about for fish, aquatic insects such as water fleas, nights, etc. Mosquitoes also serve as food for dragonflies, certain birds, bats. It is a component of food chains.

Afterwards, there are thousands of mosquito species and in a fairly limited perimeter, you can find a hundred. So if we manage to remove the populations from the tiger mosquito. there will be other species to maintain the food chain. Especially since being an invasive species, they did not exist in the French ecosystem so far. His disappearance would therefore mean a return to the initial state of the ecosystem.

9. In mainland France, we should not give in to panic in the face of the risks?

Yes, you shouldn’t panic. Given the number of indigenous cases. We have almost a million in a million to catch dengue or chikungunya, Even if in the future this probability could increase. But 2025 is still a year at risk. because of the epidemic in Reunion, where peaks of 10,000 contaminations per week have been reached.

Travelers who come back from Reunion therefore have an increased probability of bringing the virus back. So this year, there may be a slightly higher risk. Falling sick remains quite infrequent and unlikely, but it is better to protect yourself from mosquito bites.

10. Finally, advice to share?

You must avoid having stagnant water at home, In a waterproof forgotten in a corner of the garden, in an unprotected water recovery without mosquito net, on pool tarpaulins, etc.

These water points proliferate mosquitoes. Especially since the adult tiger mosquito moves within a radius of a hundred meters. Most of the time. when you get stuck at home, it is that the mosquito was born on its own land.

Journalist: Jules Scheuer