Collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified and the identification was then validated by LifeWatch
BopCo using COI DNA barcoding. These are the first records for this species, which might be a potential vector of bird pathogens (e.g., West Nile virus), in Belgium and the Netherlands. More information on the mosquito monitoring project, during which the Cs. longiareolata specimens were collected, can be found on the
MEMO project page. The full article on the discovery of the species in Belgium and the Netherlands can be accessed via
this link.
The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern (
BopCo) is financed by the Belgian Science Policy Office (
Belspo) as Belgian federal in-kind contribution to the European Research Infrastructure Consortium
LifeWatch.