As for the dependence of rates on temperature, the developmental rates of the aquatic stages, namely egg hatching, larval and pupal developments, and the mortality rates of eggs, pupae and larvae, are daily calculated as a function of the water mean temperature, while the length of the gonotrophic cycle and the mortality rate of adults are calculated as a function of air mean temperature. Since 2008 a monitoring activity has been carried out in order to estimate the water temperature (a key parameter in the developmental stages) of breeding sites. In fact, most of Aedes albopictus life stages develop in aquatic micro-environment. Specifically, a linear regression model was used to estimate the daily mean water temperature as a function of daily mean, maximum and minimum air temperature and daily mean air relative humidity (see Fig. 2a ). This allowed us to get estimates of the water temperature for the 2007 season in order to get a more truthful calculation of developmental rates for eggs hatching and immature stages (larvae and pupae), impossible to obtain otherwise.