Mosquito Notes.—VI

Extract

Aëdes (Stegomyia) variegatus (Dol.) is a widely-spread species in the Australasian region, and under its synonym of Stegomyia pseudoscutellaris is well-known as the carrier of filaria in Fiji and Polynesia in general. Up to the present the existence of definite local variations has not been suspected, partly because the species itself has been regarded as the Australasian representative of the Oriental A. albopictus (Skuse). Recently, however, Dr. P. A. Buxton has discovered that larvae from Samoa and the New Hebrides differ in a constant manner, and at his suggestion I have scrutinised the whole series of specimens of this species in the British Museum. This examination appears to show that there are at least five distinct varieties, distinguishable by small differences of colour and also by the male hypopygium, especially in the form of the basal lobe of the side-piece. The characters are fairly well defined, but are perhaps best treated as varietal rather than specific, especially as their significance appears to be mainly geographical.