Redescription of Aedes (Stegomyia) pseudoscutellaris (Theobald) with a Note on the Taxonomic Status of Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis Marks (Diptera: Culicidae)

摘要

Both sexes, larva and pupa of Aedes (Stegomyia) pseudoscutelllaris (Theobald) from Suva, Viti Levu Island, Fiji Islands are redescribed and illustrated. Notes on Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis Marks from the same location are included. Characters for separating polynesiensis from pseudoscutellaris are given. The taxonomic status of polynesiensis is discussed. Special attention is drawn to determine which of these species is the main vector of subperiodic filariasis in the Viti Levu Island of the Fiji group. Recently, 2 closely related species of the Aedes (Stegomyia) scutellaris group were received from the Fiji Islands. One was Aedes (Stegomyia) pseudoscutellaris (Theobald) and the other was Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis Marks. Both species were collected as females biting man and as males resting, landing, and swarming in the Suva area, Viti Levu Island, Fiji Islands, which is the type locality of pseudoscutellaris. Unfortunately, they are extremely similar and very difficult to separate. The recent report by Rakai et ale (1970) on biting times of polynesiensis and pseudoscutellaris on Viti Levu, the main island in Fiji, indicated that both species were primarily day-time biters and the numbers of the 2 species caught were 827 for polynesiensis and 1,840 for pseudoscutellaris. However, no investigation on the transmission of filariasis was made to determine the relative importance of the 2 species as vectors of Wuchereria bancrofti on Viti Levu Island.