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Name-bearing Type

• Theobald
• 1901b:235
• Type Species: Wyeomyia grayii

Classification

• Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Sabethini. Wyeomyia includes 139 species. Twenty-nine species are without subgeneric placement; the remainder are divided between 17 subgenera (number of species in parentheses): Antunesmyia (3), Caenomyiella (1), Cruzmyia (4), Decamyia (3), Dendromyia (6), Dodecamyia (1), Exallomyia (3), Hystatomyia (9), Menolepis (1), Miamyia (7), Nunezia (2), Phoniomyia (22), Prosopolepis (1), Spilonympha (7), Triamyia (2), Wyeomyia (36) and Zinzala (2).

Distribution

• Wyeomyia is predominantly Neotropical, but it extends across the Caribbean into Florida and one species occurs in eastern North America.
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Phylogeny

• Wyeomyia was recovered as the sister of Sabethes in the cladistic analysis of Judd (1996), as the sister of Limatus + Sabethes in the analyses of Harbach & Kitching (1998) and Harbach & Peyton (2000), and was placed in an unresolved relationship with other New World sabethine genera when the Old World genus Kimia was included in the data set of the last authors (Harbach et al., 2007a). A cladistic analysis of Wyeomyia, principally subgeneric relationships, based on morphological and allozyme data (Motta et al., 2007) provides evidence that this genus is not a monophyletic lineage because it includes genus Onirion. Contrary to the findings of Judd (1996), the results of the study show that Limatus and Phoniomyia are separate monophyletic lineages outside of Wyeomyia; however, the authors pointed out that it was not possible to test the sister-group relationship of subgenus Hystatomyia and Phoniomyia that led Judd (1998) to formally reduce the latter to subgeneric status in Wyeomyia. Consequently, the placement of Phoniomyia in a sister relationship to Wyeomyia (including Onirion) may be due to the exclusion of Hystatomyia from the data set. Likewise, the placement of Onirion within Wyeomyia may have been influenced by the exclusion of morphological characters that distinguish the adults, larvae and pupae of Onirion from those of Wyeomyia.

Characteristics

• Wyeomyia is difficult to characterise because it is an unnatural assemblage of species t requires revision. The adults resemble Limatus and Sabethes more closely than other genera of tribe Sabethini in the New World. They are distinguished from both of these genera by having the scutum covered with scales ranging from a relatively dull bronzy colour with a slight metallic sheen (most species) to metallic gold. They also differ from Limatus in having prespiracular setae, and are distinguished from all species of Sabethes except Sa. pectrocchiae by the presence of prealar setae. Those species that have the proboscis distinctly longer than the forefemur differ from similar species of other New World sabethines in having the upper calypter of the wing without setae. Some species with a short proboscis (about as long or shorter than the forefemur) resemble certain species of Shannoniana and Trichoprosopon, but these can be distinguished by the absence of setae on the clypeus and the absence or presence of one to three setae on the upper calypter. Wyeomyia larvae are distinguished from other New World sabethines by the following features: occipital foramen with dorsolateral slit-like extensions (distinction from Johnbelkinia, Onirion, Shannoniana and Trichoprosopon); seta 1-C not exceptionally close together (distinction from Limatus); maxillary brush present, rarely absent (distinction from Johnbelkinia, Isostomyia, Shannoniana and Runchomyia); maxillary palpus freely attached to maxillary body (distinction from Johnbelkinia and Sabethes); seta 8-M present (distinction from Trichoprosopon). See Sabethini.

Bionomics

• Wyeomyia are principally forest mosquitoes. The larvae inhabit small collections of water in bromeliads and aroids, flower bracts, broken bamboo and bamboo stumps, tree holes, pitcher plants, and occasionally artificial and other containers. Adults are active during the day. They are usually found in damp forests near larval habitats. Various species are found at all elevations in forest canopy, but some seem to be restricted to ground level. Most of the species take blood meals and females readily feed on humans that enter their realm.

Medical

• Wyeomyia are not known to vector disease agents and have little if any economic importance to humans; however, Ilheus and Venezuelan encephalitis viruses have been isolated from Wy. medioalbipes in Trinidad.

Important References

Lane, 1953 (Neotropical Region) Correa & Mamalho, 1956 (subgenus Phoniomyia) Forattini, 1965b Cova-García et al., 1966 (Venezuela) Belkin et al., 1970 (taxonomy, Jamaica) Clark-Gil & Darsie, 1983 (Guatemala)

Darsie, 1985 (keys, Argentina) Zavortink, 1985 (subgenus Zinzala) Harbach & Peyton, 1990, 1992 (subgenera Caenomyiella and Exallomyia, respectively) Motta & Lourenço-de-Oliveira, 1995 (subgenus Dendromyia) Motta & Lourenço-de-Oliveira, 2005 (keys, subgenus Spilonympha) Motta et al., 2007 (classification, phylogeny)

Included Taxa

Subgenus ANTUNESMYIA Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 alani Lane & Cerqueira, 1957 colombiana Lane, 1945 flavifacies Edwards, 1922   Subgenus CAENOMYIELLA Harbach & Peyton, 1990 fernandezyepezi (Cova Garcia, Sutil Oramas & Pulido F., 1974)   Subgenus CRUZMYIA Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 dyari Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 forattinii Clastrier, 1974 kummi Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 mattinglyi Lane, 1953   Subgenus DECAMYIA Dyar, 1919 felicia (Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927) pseudopecten Dyar & Knab, 1906 ulocoma (Theobald, 1903)   Subgenus DENDROMYIA Theobald, 1903 complosa (Dyar, 1928) luteoventralis Theobald, 1901 testei Senevet & Abonnenc, 1939 trifurcata Clastrier, 1973 ypsipola Dyar, 1922   Subgenus DODECAMYIA Dyar, 1918 aphobema Dyar, 1918   Subgenus EXALLOMYIA Harbach & Peyton, 1992 arborea Galindo, Carpenter & Trapido, 1951 carrilloi (Sutil O. & Pulido F., 1978) tarsata Lane & Cerqueira, 1942   Subgenus HYSTATOMYIA Dyar, 1919 autocratica Dyar & Knab, 1906 baltae Porter, 2009 chocoensis Porter & Wolff, 2004 circumcincta Dyar & Knab, 1907 coenonus Howard, Dyar & Knab, 1913, 1915 esmeraldasi (Levi-Castillo, 1955) intonca Dyar & Knab, 1910 lamellata (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1920) lopezii Cova Garcia, Sutil Oramas & Pulido F., 1974   Subgenus MENOLEPIS Lutz, 1905 leucostigma Lutz, 1904   Subgenus MIAMYIA Dyar, 1919 codiocampa Dyar & Knab, 1907 hosautos Dyar & Knab, 1907 limai Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 lutzi (da Costa Lima, 1930) sabethea Lane & Cerqueira, 194 serrata (Lutz, 1905)   Subgenus NUNEZIA Dyar, 1928 bicornis (Root, 1928) lateralis Petrocchi, 1927

Subgenus PHONIOMYIA Theobald, 1903 antunesi Lane & Guimar?es, 1937 bonnei (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) davisi (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) deanei (Louren?o de Oliveira, 1983) diabolica (Lane & Forattini, 1952) edwardsi (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) flabellata (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) fuscipes Edwards, 1922 galvaoi (Correa & Ramalho, 1956) incaudata (Root, 1928) lassalli (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1921) longirostris Theobald, 1901 lopesi (Correa & Ramalho, 1956) muehlensi Petrocchi, 1927 pallidoventer (Theobald, 1907) palmata (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) pilicauda Root, 1928 quasilongirostris (Theobald, 1907) splendida Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1919 theobaldi (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942) trinidadensis Theobald, 1901 tripartita (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1921)   Subgenus PROSOPOLEPIS Lutz, 1905 confusa (Lutz, 1905)   Subgenus SPILONYMPHA Motta & Louren?o-de-Oliveira, 2005 airosai Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 aningae Motta & Louren?o-de-Oliveira, 2005 bourrouli (Lutz, 1905) finlayi Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 forcipenis Louren?o-de-Oliveira & da Silva, 1985 howardi Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 mystes Dyar, 1924   Subgenus TRIAMYIA Dyar, 1919 aporonoma Dyar & Knab, 1906 staminifera Louren?o-de-Oliveira, Motta & de Castro, 1992   Subgenus WYEOMYIA Theobald, 1901 abebela Dyar & Knab, 1908 ablechra Dyar & Knab, 1908 adelpha Dyar & Knab, 1906 arthrostigma (Lutz, 1905) atrata Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 bahama Dyar & Knab, 1906 caracula Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927 celaenocephala Dyar & Knab, 1906 charmion Dyar, 1928 corona Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 downsi Lane, 1945 florestan Dyar, 1925 gaudians Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927 gausapata Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927 grayii Theobald, 1901 guatemala Dyar & Knab, 1906 haynei Dodge, 1947 hemisagnosta Dyar & Knab, 1906 hirsuta (Hill & Hill, 1946) subspecies hirsuta (Hill & Hill, 1946) subspecies leucotarsis Lane, 1936

Subgenus WYEOMYIA, cont. juxtahirsuta Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 labesba Howard, Dyar & Knab, 1913, 1915 luna Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 medioalbipes Lutz, 1904 melanopus Dyar, 1919 mitchellii (Theobald, 1905) nigritubus Galindo, Carpenter & Trapido, 1951 pertinans (Williston, 1896) pseudorobusta Pajot & Fauran, 1975 robusta Senevet & Abonnenc, 1939 scotinomus (Dyar & Knab, 1907) simmsi (Dyar & Knab, 1908) smithii (Coquillett, 1901) sororcula Dyar & Knab, 1906 stellata Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 stonei Vargas & Martínez Palacios, 1953 vanduzeei Dyar & Knab, 1906 Subgenus ZINZALA Zavortink, 1986 fishi Zavortink, 1986 zinzala Zavortink, 1986 Subgenus uncertain aequatorianna Levi-Castillo, 1954 albosquamata Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1919 amazonica Levi-Castillo, 1954 argenteorostris (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1920) cesari del Ponte & Cerqueira, 1938 chalcocephala Dyar & Knab, 1906 clasoleuca Dyar & Knab, 1908 compta Senevet & Abonnenc, 1939 covagarciai Sutil Oramas & Pulido F., 1974 flui (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1920) gutierrezi Duret, 1971 ininicola Fauran & Pajot, 1974 knabi Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 melanocephala Dyar & Knab, 1906 moerbista (Dyar & Knab, 1919) negrensis Gordon & Evans, 1922 nigricephala Clastrier & Claustre, 1978 occulta Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1919 pampithes (Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1928) phroso Howard, Dyar & Knab, 1915 rooti (del Ponte, 1939) rorotai Senevet, Chabelard & Abonnenc, 1942 roucouyana (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1920) serratoria (Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927) shannoni Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 subcomplosa (del Ponte, 1939) surinamensis Bruijning, 1959 taurepana Anduze, 1941 undulata del Ponte & Cerqueira, 1938   Nomen dubium pusillum Lutz & Nuñez-Tovar, 1928

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.