France launches Tiger Mosquito citizen‑science program to curb disease risk

The Interreg Tiger 2.0 project, coordinated by Bruno Mathieu of the Institut de parasitologie et de pathologie tropicale in Strasbourg, expands the earlier Tiger initiative (ended 2020) by mobilising citizens across the Upper‑Rhine region as “mosquito ambassadors”. Participants follow a protocol to capture Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito) specimens, send them to laboratories for egg analysis, and help deploy a network of water‑filled ovitraps in France, Germany and Switzerland. The data allow researchers to map mosquito populations and identify high‑risk transmission zones, while public education stresses eliminating standing‑water habitats—gutter blockages, flower‑pot trays, buckets—to prevent breeding.

Climate change is widening the geographic range of the tiger mosquito, which has already caused autochthonous cases of chikungunya and dengue in mainland France (603 cases reported in 2025, including four local chikungunya infections). The project’s dual aim is surveillance and prevention, leveraging multidisciplinary teams of virologists, entomologists, physicians and parasitologists.

A related educational piece explains the mosquito’s biology: females are attracted to human‑generated carbon‑dioxide and skin‑derived odor compounds, using these cues to locate hosts for blood meals needed to mature eggs. Understanding these behaviours underpins the citizen‑focused outreach and trap‑deployment strategy.