- Culicidae » Culicinae » Culisetini
- Representative species shown here: Culiseta morsitans
-
Genus-specific Diagnostic Characters, Adult Stage
- To view detail images as a group, click here.
To view individually, click on character description below.
Image will open in a separate window.
(Pop-up windows must be enabled in your browser settings.)
Name-bearing Type
- 1904:391c
- Type Species: Culex absobrinus Felt, 1904 [subjective synonym of Culiseta impatiens (Walker, 1848)]
Classification
- Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Culisetini. Culiseta is the only genus of tribe Culisetini. It includes 37 species. One species is not placed in a subgenus; the other species are divided between seven subgenera (number of species in parentheses): Allotheobaldia (1), Austrotheobaldia (1), Climacura (5), Culicella (14), Culiseta (12), Neotheobaldia (2) and Theomyia (1).
Distribution
- Most species of Culiseta occur in the Palaearctic, Nearctic and Australasian Regions, but some also occur in the Afrotropical and Oriental Regions. Two species are found in Central America, but none occur in South America.
Phylogeny
- The affinities of Culiseta are unknown. Culiseta was paired with Toxorhynchites in the implied weighting analysis of Harbach & Kitching (1998), but this relationship seems unlikely. Culiseta appears to be an ancient group that shares similarities with a number of other genera. Phylogenetic relationships within genus Culiseta have not been investigated.
Characteristics
- Culiseta are rather large mosquitoes which bear a superficial resemblance to Culex. They lack pulvilli, possess prespiracular setae and bear a patch of setae at the base of the subcosta on the ventral surface of the wing. The subcostal setae are virtually diagnostic for the genus. They are known to occur in only three other mosquitoes, Coquillettidia (Austromansonia) tenuipalpis (New Zealand), Opifex (Nothoskusea) chathamicus (Chatham Island) and Opifex (Opifex) fuscus (New Zealand). Culiseta are distinguished from these species by the presence of prespiracular setae. With one exception (Cs. littleri, subgenus Austrotheobaldia, Australia), larvae have seta 1-S inserted at the base of the siphon. The only other genera that have seta 1-S in this position are Ficalbia and Hodgesia. Larvae of Culiseta differ from Ficalbia in having a complete hypostomal suture. They differ from Hodgesia in having seta 5-VIII located far below the dorsal margin of abdominal segment X. The larva of Austrothobaldia is unique in having the antennae and head setae 5,6-C unusually long, with seta 6-C single and about twice as long as the head. See Culisetini.
Bionomics
- Most Culiseta are cold-adapted species which only occur in warmer climates during the colder parts of the year or at higher elevations where temperatures are low. The larvae of most species are found in ground waters such as bogs, marshes, ponds, streams, ditches and rock-pools, but an African species occurs in tree-holes, a common eastern Palaearctic species occurs in wells and rock pools, and several Australian species occur underground. Little is known about the blood-feeding habits of females. Most species feed on birds and mammals, but a few feed on reptiles. Several species attack domestic animals and occasionally humans.
Medical
- Three species, Cs. inornata, Cs. melanura and Cs. dyari, are vectors of both Eastern and Western equine encephalitis virus in North America.
Important References
|
|
Included Taxa
|
|
|
 |
The materials presented in the Classification, Distribution, Phylogeny, Characteristics, Medical, and Important References sections, and links to subgenera, are reproduced with permission of Mosquito Taxonomic Inventory, moderated by Ralph Harbach on behalf of the contributors who retain copyright. For additional information on reuse parameters, please contact Mosquito Taxonomic Inventory. Images and maps, unless otherwise attributed, and links to the literature are provided by the WRBU. |