Aedes malayensis explained

Aedes malayensis was first described in 1963 by Australian entomologist Donald Henry Colless as a subspecies of Aedes scutellaris from males collected at Pulau Hantu, Keppel Harbor, Singapore.^{[1] [2]} In 1972 the subspecies was elevated to species status by Yiau-Min Huang,^[3] although the move was disputed by the original describer on biological as opposed to morphological principles.^[4]

Bionomics

The immature stages of Aedes malayensis are found mainly in tree holes, bamboo stumps, coconut shells and artificial containers.^[3] The species' distribution includes Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.^[2]

Medical Importance

Although no direct role as a vector of disease has been definitively elucidated for Aedes malayensis, the females are known to bite humans^[3] and dengue virus has been transovarially transmitted experimentally in the species.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Colless, D. H. 1963. Notes on the taxonomy of the Aedes scutellaris group and new records of A. paullusi and A. albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 87(pt. 3): 312-315; http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19641000317.html;jsessionid=FBAD484631831E6CED8F42CC1D7D0359.
2. Thomas V. Gaffigan, Richard C. Wilkerson, James E. Pecor, Judith A. Stoffer and Thomas Anderson. 2016. "Aedes » Stegomyia » malayensis Colless" in Systematic Catalog of Culicidae, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/taxon_descr.aspx?ID=21828, accessed 13 Feb 2016.
3. Yiau-Min Huang. 1972. Contributions to the Mosquito Fauna of Southeast Asia. XIV. The Subgenus Stegomyia of Aedes in Southeast Asia. I - The Scutellaris Group of Species. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 9(1): 1-109; http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA510169.
4. D. H. Colless. 1973. A Note on the Status of Aedes malayensis and the Distribution of Aedes albopictus. Mosquito Systematics, 5(3):225-226; http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/MS05N03P225.pdf .
5. H.L. Lee and A. Rohani. 2005. Transovarial Transmission of Dengue Virus in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Relation to Dengue Outbreak in an Urban Area in Malaysia. Dengue Bulletin, 29: 106-111; http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/164121/1/dbv29p106.pdf.