Aedes albopictus (common name: tiger mosquito) is known to be an effective vector for a variety of diseases including Dengue fever, West Nile fever, Japanese encephalitis and LaCrosse encephalitis.

The species is native to the tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, but in the past decades the species has invaded several countries in the tropics (Africa and South America), as well as countries in the temperate areas e.g. the western part of North America, Spain, Italy and Albania.

The relatively rapid spread over long distances is likely to be caused by accidental introduction of the species by international trade of wet tires or water containers that hold eggs or larvae. Lately, as a consequence of the ongoing importation of used tires containing water and the “wet” import of bamboo shoots from China, sporadic occurrences of the species has been detected in France, Belgium and Holland.

Several attempts have been made to establish the environmental requirements of the species and to determine a northern distributional limit. This has lead to the establishment of a range of specific climatic criteria for the survival and activity of the species. These criteria are here transferred on the Nordic climate.

A possible climate change with increasing temperatures in the future will increase the areas of suitable climate for A. albopictus and is likely to allow the species to further increase its range northward. These areas could include the southern parts of the Nordic countries, e.g. parts of Denmark and the southernmost parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland.