Medical Entomology Studies XII. A Revision of the Aedes Scutellaris Group of Tonga (Diptera: Culicidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute. Volume 17, Number 3, 1980

摘要

This revision of the Aedes scutellaris group of Tonga is based on the examination of more than 9,000 specimens (including 1,866 individual rearings with associated pupal and/or larval skins) of 3 species and one subspecies. The group is defined and keys to the identification of the species of the group in the Fiji-Tonga-Samoa area are provided and their geographical ranges presented. Aedes (Stegomyia) kesseli, a new species from Tafahi Island, is recognized. Aedes cooki Belkin (1962) is shown to be distinct and Ae. tabu Ramalingam and Belkin (1965) is considered a subspecies of tongae Edwards(1926). The known stages of the 3 species and one subspecies in Tonga are described or redescribed and illustrated and information on type-data, distribution, bionomics, medical importance and a taxonomic discussion of all 4 species and subspecies are presented. The male, female, pupa and larva of kesseli n. sp. , the pupa and larva of tongae tongae, and the male, female and female terminalia of cooki, tongae tabu and tongae tongae are described and illustrated for the first time. New records include: cooki from Niuafo'ou Island and Vava'u Group, kesseli from Tafahi Island and Niuatoputapu, tongue tabu from Pangaimotu Island, in Tongatapu Group, and tongae tongue from Lifuka Island, Luahoko Island, Ha'ano Island, Foa Island, Limu Island, Luangahu Island, Nukunamo Island, Tatafa Island, Tofanga Island, Uanukuhahake Island, Uanukuhihifo Island, Uiha Island, and Uoleva Island, in the Ha'apai Group. Information is presented on the bionomics and medical importance of the above species and subspecies based on field studies conducted by James C. Hitchcock in Tonga from 1968-73. Special emphasis is placed upon immature habitats, relative abundance of each member of the group, composition of associated invertebrate fauna, biting behavior, fecundity and gonotropic cycle. The role of the scutellaris group in the transmission of filariasis and dengue viruses in Tonga is discussed.