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Insects of the subfamily Typhlocybinae ( Hemiptera : Cicadellidae ) are pests of economically important agricultural and horticultural crops. They damage the plants directly or indirectly by transmitting plant pathogens, resulting in significant yield loss. Several leafhoppers of this subfamily use vines as hosts. Accurate and rapid identification is the key to their successful management. The aim of this study is to determine the Typhlocybinae species that exist in vineyards all over Greece and investigate the relationship between them. For this purpose, yellow sticky traps were placed, morphological and molecular data were collected, and phylogenetic models were analyzed. The mitochondrial marker Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (mt COI ) was applied for the DNA and phylogenetic analysis. The combination of morphological and molecular data resulted in identifying the existence of six different species all over Greece: Arboridia adanae , Asymmetrasca decedens , Hebata decipiens , Hebata vitis , Jacobiasca lybica and Zygina rhamni . Forty-eight different haplotypes were found to exist in the different regions of the country.

Community involvement in Aedes albopictus management can be very efficient and result in raising awareness among citizens. Toward this end, a door-to-door campaign can encourage active community participation in vector control. The current study describes the results of an intervention where a KAP (knowledge, attitude, practices) survey tool was paired with a door-to-door campaign and was implemented as an intervention method in Vravrona area (Attica, Greece) before the release of sterile males (sterile insect technique, SIT) against Aedes albopictus . The KAP tool was used to shed light on the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of local community members in order to better prepare and motivate participation in household mosquito control and to assess current understanding of SIT. Each household also received specific information about mosquito source habitat in their own yards at the time of the initial KAP survey. These household data were complemented by standardized mosquito trapping in the municipality. Our findings indicate that citizens' attitude toward SIT ranged from indecisive to fully supportive, while 77.5% of the respondents agreed that the SIT has many advantages over chemical control methods. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that using the door-to-door campaign as an intervention and prerelease method before SIT can suppress the initial mosquito population and potentially improve its efficacy. Lastly, we show that the presence of local municipality officials during door-to-door visits was associated with increased willingness from the residents to participate in the intervention.

Aedes albopictus , an invasive mosquito species, is currently well established in many European countries, posing high risks to human health. A preliminary trial using repetitive releases of irradiated sterile male mosquitoes was designed, implemented and evaluated for the first time in Greece. The main scope of this trial was to investigate the efficacy of sterile insect technique (SIT) on wild population egg hatch rate in Greece using mass-produced sterile male mosquitoes from another country (Italy). The study was conducted in Vravrona area, close to Athens International Airport (Attica Region). The number of eggs laid in ovitraps was similar in all intervention and control plots. However, a significant reduction in egg hatch rate was recorded in the SIT plot in comparison with both control plots starting two weeks after the first release. This trial validates the logistics (transportation, releases handling and monitoring) as a major step towards implementing efficient, environmentally safe control approaches as an additional tool against the invasive Aedes species in Greece and more widely in Europe.

West Nile virus (WNV) threatens the health of humans and equines worldwide. Culex ( Cx . ) pipiens complex mosquitoes are major vectors but numerous other species have been implicated. Due to variations in blood-feeding behaviour, Cx . pipiens biotypes and hybrids influence transmission, from enzootic cycles (between mosquitoes and birds), to spill-over transmission to humans and equines. In this study, mosquitoes were collected in May-June 2018 during the early period of the transmission season from two regional units of Greece, where WNV cases had been reported in the previous four years (Palaio Faliro and Argolida). A total of 1062 mosquitoes were collected with Biogents Sentinel 2 traps collecting both a greater number of all mosquito species and the Cx . pipiens complex than CDC miniature light traps or Heavy Duty EVS traps. Molecular identification confirmed additional species including Aedes albopictus . The proportion of Cx . pipiens biotypes in Palaio Faliro was 54.5% pipiens , 20.0% molestus and 25.5% hybrids. In Argolida, the collection comprised 68.1% pipiens biotype, 8.3% molestus biotype and 23.6% hybrids. Screening resulted in WNV detection in three females of the pipiens biotype and in one hybrid. As hybrids play a role in spill-over transmission, these findings highlight the importance of entomological surveillance programs incorporating molecular xenomonitoring as an early warning before human cases at the onset of the transmission season., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.