mosquitoes, predatory copepods from the family cyclopidae seem to willingly feed on them given the opportunity. relatives of different genera could therefore present a possibility in the control of tiger mosquitoes. predators of adult ae. albopictus in malaysia include various spider species. up to 90% of the gathered spiders from rubber plantations and a cemetery fed upon asian tiger mosquitoes. whether the spiders would have an effect on the mosquito population is still unclear. tiger mosquitoes were abundantly present despite the existence of the spiders. distribution estimated distribution of ae. albopictus in the united states, cdc 2016 climatic adaptations ae. albopictus eggs the asian tiger mosquito originally came from southeast asia. in 1966, parts of asia and the island worlds of india and the pacific ocean were denoted as the area of circulation for the asian tiger mosquito. ae. albopictus as a native of tropical and subtropical regions with warm and humid climate, is active all year long; however, it has been adapting successfully to cooler, temperate regions, where they hibernate over winter. eggs from strains in the temperate zones are more tolerant to the cold than ones from warmer regions. the species can even tolerate snow and temperatures under freezing. adult tiger mosquitoes can survive throughout winter in suitable microhabitats. invasive species since the mid-1960s, the tiger mosquito has spread to europe, the americas, the caribbean, africa, and the middle east. as of 2008 ae. albopictus was one of the 100 world's worst invasive species according to the global invasive species database. as of 2006, ae. albopictus was not native to australia and new zealand. the species was introduced there multiple times, but has yet to establish itself. this is due to the well-organized entomological surveillance programs in the harbors and airports of these countries. nevertheless, as of 2006 it has become domestic on the islands in the torres strait between queensland, australia, and new guinea. in europe, asian tiger mosquitos first emerged in albania in 1979, introduced through a shipment of goods from china. in 1990–1991, they were most likely brought to italy in used tires from georgia (usa), and since then have spread throughout the entire mainland of italy, as well as parts of sicily and sardinia. since 1999, they have established themselves on the mainland of france, primarily southern france. in 2002, they were also discovered in a vacation town on the island of corsica, but did not completely establish themselves there until 2005. in belgium, they were detected in 2000 and 2013, in 2001 in montenegro, 2003 in canton ticino in southern switzerland, and greece, 2004 in spain and croatia, 2005 in the netherlands and slovenia, and 2006 in bosnia and herzegovina. in the fall of 2007, the first tiger mosquito eggs were discovered in rastatt (baden-wuerttemberg, germany). shortly before, they were found in the northern alps of switzerland in canton aargau. since 2010, it has also been sighted increasingly in malta during summer. in september 2016, public health england found eggs, though no mosquitos, in a lorry park at folkestone service station on the m20, near westenhanger, which is 6 miles west of the eurotunnel. the swiss autobahns are especially of concern. governments and universities in switzerland cooperate every year to monitor the invasion using traps at autobahn rest stations, and also at airports and commercial hubs. in the united states, this species invaded the southern united states in the 1980s and rapidly spread northward into novel climate compared to its native range. it was initially found in 1983 in memphis, tennessee. then at the port of houston in a 1985 shipment of used tires, and spread across the south up the east coast to become prevalent in the northeast. it was not discovered in southern california until 2001, then eradicated for over a decade; however, by 2011, it was again being found in los angeles county traps, then over the next two years expanded its range to kern county and san diego county. as of 2013, north american land favoring the environmental conditions of the asian tiger mosquito was expected to more than triple in size in the coming 20 years, especially in urban areas. as of 2017 aedes albopictus mosquitoes have been identified in 1,368 counties in 40 u.s states. a 2019 study in nature microbiology that modeled expansion of aedes albopictus due to climate change, urbanization, and human movement found that the species would likely continue to spread throughout the coming decades. in latin america, the asian tiger mosquito was first discovered 1986 in brazil and in 1988 in argentina and mexico, as well. other parts of latin america where the asian tiger mosquito was discovered are the dominican republic in 1993, bolivia, cuba, honduras, and guatemala in 1995, el salvador in 1996, paraguay in 1999, panama in 2002, and uruguay and nicaragua in 2003. in africa, the species was first detected in 1990 in south africa. in nigeria, it has been domestic since at least 1991. it spread to cameroon in 1999/2000, to the bioko island of equatorial guinea in 2001, and to gabon in 2006. in the middle east, the species was detected in lebanon in 2003 and in syria in 2005; the first record in israel was published in 2003. competition with established species ae. albopictus ae. albopictus can outcompete and even eradicate other species with similar breeding habitats from the very start of its dispersal to other regions and biotopes. in kolkata, for example, it was observed in the 1960s that egg depositing containers were being settled by the asian tiger mosquito in city districts where the malaria mosquito (genus anopheles) and yellow fever mosquito (aedes aegypti) had both been eliminated by the application of ddt. this may be because primarily the inner walls of the houses were treated with ddt to kill the mosquitoes resting there and fight the malaria mosquito. the yellow fever mosquito also lingers particularly in the inside of buildings and would have been also affected. the asian tiger mosquito rests in the vicinity of human dwellings would therefore have an advantage over the other two species. in other cases where the yellow fever mosquito was repressed by the asian tiger mosquito, for instance in florida, this explanation does not fit. other hypotheses include competition in the larval breeding waters, differences in metabolism and reproductive biology, or a major susceptibility to sporozoans (apicomplexa). another species which was suppressed by the migrating ae. albopictus was ae. guamensis in guam. the asian tiger mosquito is similar, in terms of its close socialization with humans, to the common house mosquito (culex pipiens). among other differences in their biology, culex pipiens prefers larger breeding waters and is more tolerant to cold. in this respect, no significant competition or suppression between the two species likely occurs. a possible competition among mosquito species that all lay their eggs in knotholes and other similar places (ae. cretinus, ae. geniculatus, and anopheles plumbeus) has yet to be observed. in europe, the asian tiger mosquito apparently covers an extensive new niche. this means that no native, long-established species conflict with the dispersal of ae. albopictus. role as disease vector for humans ae. albopictus is known to transmit pathogens and viruses, such as the yellow fever virus, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and usutu virus. there is some evidence supporting the role of ae. albopictus in the transmission of zika virus, which is primarily transmitted by the related ae. aegypti. the asian tiger mosquito was responsible for the chikungunya epidemic on the french island la réunion in 2005–2006. by september 2006, an estimated 266,000 people were infected with the virus, and 248 fatalities occurred on the island. the asian tiger mosquito was also the transmitter of the virus in the first and only outbreak of chikungunya fever on the european continent. this outbreak occurred in the italian province of ravenna in the summer of 2007, and infected over 200 people. evidently, mutated strains of the chikungunya virus are being directly transmitted through ae. albopictus particularly well and in such a way that another dispersal of the disease in regions with the asian tiger mosquito is feared. on the basis of experimental evidence and probability estimates, the likelihood of mechanical or biological transmission of hiv by insects is virtually nonexistent. for animals the tiger mosquito is relevant to veterinary medicine. for example, tiger mosquitoes are transmitters of dirofilaria immitis, a parasitic roundworm that causes heart failure in dogs and cats. for arthropods wolbachia infection are the most common infection in arthropods today, and over 40% of arthropods have contracted it. wolbachia can be transmitted from parent to offspring or between breeding individuals. wolbachia is easily transmitted within the ae. albopictus mosquito due to the effects it has on fecundity in females. once female asian tiger mosquitos have contracted the infection, they produce more eggs, give birth more frequently, and live longer than uninfected females. in this way, wolbachia provides a fitness advantage to the infected females and prevents uninfected females from reproducing. this allows control of the spread of diseases that many species carry by suppressing reproduction of the individuals with the harmful disease, but without the wolbachia infection. wolbachia can also be used to transfer certain genes into the population to further control the spread of diseases. cytoplasmic incompatibility in the natural environment, wolbachia and the asian tiger mosquito are in a symbiotic relationship, so both species benefit from each other and can evolve together. the relationship between wolbachia and its host might not have always been mutualistic, as drosophila populations once experienced decreased fecundity in infected females, suggesting that wolbachia evolved over time so that infected individuals would actually reproduce much more. the mechanism by which wolbachia is inherited through maternal heredity is called cytoplasmic incompatibility. this changes the gamete cells of males and females, making some individuals unable to mate with each other. although little is known about why cytoplasmic incompatibility exists, wolbachia infection creates a fitness advantage for infected females, as they can mate with either infected or uninfected males. despite this, infected males cannot reproduce with uninfected females. therefore, over time, a population exposed to wolbachia transitions from a few infected individuals to all individuals becoming infected, as the males that cannot reproduce successfully do not contribute to future generations. this is called population replacement, where the population's overall genotype is replaced by a new genotype. this shows how populations of asian tiger mosquitoes can vary in number of wolbachia-infected individuals, based on how often the infection is transmitted. due to wolbachia's ability to transmit from one host to the next, it can change the average genotype of a population, potentially reducing the population's gene flow with other nearby populations. unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility this type of cytoplasmic incompatibility where an infected male cannot reproduce successfully with an uninfected female is called unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility. it occurs because wolbachia modifies the paternal chromosomes during sperm development, leading to complications for these offspring during embryonic development. bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility also, bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility occurs when an infected male carrying one strain of wolbachia reproduces with an infected female carrying a different strain of wolbachia. this also results in failed reproduction, this incompatibility also has evolutionary implications for populations of ae. albopictus and other vectors of the infection. this is because bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility in wolbachia creates unviable offspring, reducing gene flow between two populations, which can eventually lead to speciation. control and suppression litter in roadside ditches makes an ideal breeding ground for the asian tiger mosquito. ae. albopictus is very difficult to suppress or to control due to its remarkable ability to adapt to various environments, its close contact with humans, and its reproductive biology. an ovitrap, a tool for the detection of asian tiger mosquitoes: their presence is confirmed through the eggs they lay on the wooden paddle. the brown granules in the water are a bti preparation that kills hatching mosquito larvae. the containment of infestations is generally effected by public health services through area-wide integrated control plans, which aim to reduce the nuisance perceived by populations and the risks of viraemic transmission. such plans consist of different activities that include entomological surveillance, larvicide treatments in public and private areas, information campaigns, and treatments against adult mosquitoes in the zones affected by suspected cases of transmissible viroses.