Emerging mosquito invaders: Range expansion and revised checklist of Culicidae in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract Mosquitoes are significant vectors of numerous medically important pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes. Invasive mosquito species, primarily of Asian origin, are rapidly expanding across Europe, thereby elevating the risk of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya outbreaks in urban areas. This updated checklist builds upon and significantly expands the previous version published in the second electronic edition of the Checklist of Diptera of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, covering the family Culicidae (Meigen, 1818). The earlier checklist documented 50 species in total: 45 from Czech Republic (39 in Bohemia and 39 in Moravia) and 50 from Slovakia. The current revision recognizes 55 species, of which 51 occur in the Czech Republic (48 in Bohemia and 43 in Moravia) and 54 in Slovakia. The checklist is based on a critical review of the faunistic literature and includes newly recorded species. In addition to synthesizing data from previously published literature, this study incorporates newly recorded invasive mosquito species— Aedes albopictus , Ae. japonicus japonicus , and Ae. koreicus and provides an overview of their distributional expansion and ecological characteristics. Their establishment and ongoing spread represent a significant epidemiological risk, particularly in the context of climate change, increasing international trade, and growing human mobility, which facilitate both mosquito dispersal and pathogen introduction.