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Name-bearing Type

• Theobald
• 1903a:296
• Type Species: Uranotaenia minima (Theobald)

Classification

• Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Ficalbiini. Ficalbia, along with genus Mimomyia, belongs to tribe Ficalbiini. Ficalbia includes only eight species.

Distribution

• Ficalbia includes four species in the Afrotropical Region, three in the Oriental Region (one of which extends into the Australasian Region) and one in the eastern Palaearctic (Ryukyu Archipelago).
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Phylogeny

• The phylogenetic relationships of Ficalbia are uncertain. Morphological data suggest affinities with Hodgesia and Mimomyia. Although Ficalbia and Mimomyia are the only genera included in tribe Ficalbiini, the cladistic analyses of generic relationships conducted by Harbach & Kitching (1998) suggest that they are not sister taxa. This is concordant with Mattingly's (1981) opinion that Ficalbia and Mimomyia are more distantly related than their inclusion in the same tribe would suggest. The phylogeny of Ficalbia has not been investigated.

Characteristics

• Ficalbia are small mosquitoes. The adults are rather easily distinguished from other genera, except Mimomyia, by the following combination of characters: first flagellomere of antenna elongate, two to six times as long as second flagellomere in females; head with erect scales restricted to occiput; acrostichal setae and dorsocentral setae present; prespiracular setae and postspiracular setae absent; upper calypter and alula with a fringe of setae or hair-like scales; anal vein (vein 1A) ends beyond base of mediocubital crossvein; tarsi normal, pulvilli not evident. A fringe of narrow scales on the alula distinguishes Ficalbia from Mimomyia. In Mimomyia the alula is either bare or has a patch of broad, flat scales on the margin. Larvae of Ficalbia are characterised as follows: distal part of antenna fused with basal part (not articulated as in Mimomyia); hypostomal suture incomplete or absent; seta 12-I present; comb scales in a single row; siphon unmodified, with seta 1-S inserted near base (distinction from Mimomyia); pecten with at most two spines; ventral brush (seta 4-X) with four to six pairs of setae; saddle complete, with one or more minute setae on ventral midline (distinction from Mimomyia). The larvae share many characteristics with Hodgesia, which differ in having a complete hypostomal suture and exceptionally long thoracic setae. See Ficalbiini.

Bionomics

• Little is known about the bionomics of Ficalbia. Larvae are found in swamps, marshes, ponds, pools and river margins with abundant vegetation. Adults have been captured on lower vegetation and near the canopy in forest at night. Nothing is known about the biting habits of females.

Medical

• Species of Ficalbia are apparently of no medical or economic importance.

Important References

Edwards, 1941 (adults, Afrotropical Region) Hopkins, 1952 (larvae, Afrotropical Region) Belkin, 1962 (taxonomy, including Mimomyia, South Pacific) Grjebine, 1986 (Madagascar)

Lee et al., 1988b (Australasian Region) Service, 1990 (Afrotropical Region) Toma & Higa, 2004 (species differences)

Included Taxa

circumtestacea (Theobald, 1908) ichiromiyagii Toma & Higa, 2004 jacksoni Mattingly, 1949 ludlowae Brunetti, 1920

malfeyti (Newstead, 1907) minima (Theobald, 1901) nigra (Theobald, 1901) uniformis (Theobald, 1904)

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.