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Name-bearing Type

• Giles
• 1904a:369
• Type Species: Runchomyia philippinensis

Classification

• Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Sabethini. Tripteroides is a large genus of 123 species divided between five subgenera: Polylepidomyia (19 species), Rachionotomyia (15 species), Rachisoura (28 species), Tricholeptomyia (9 species) and Tripteroides (52 species).

Distribution

• Species of Tripteroides are largely distributed in the Oriental and Australasian Regions. The range of the genus extends from India and Sri Lanka to Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Fiji in the South Pacific and south to Tasmania.
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Phylogeny

• When Harbach et al. (2007a) included genus Kimia in the data set of Harbach & Peyton (2000), Tripteroides was paired with the New World genus Trichoprosopon in a sister relationship with Kimia. Speculation about a close relationship between Tripteroides and Trichoprosopon has existed since Lee (1946) could find no clear distinctions to separate them. However, Tripteroides is a complex and heterogeneous genus that has always been difficult to characterise. Despite the study of Mattingly (1981), the genus remains a confused and apparently polyphyletic assemblage of species (Judd, 1996). Until the included species are sorted into monophyletic groups, it will not be possible to know the affinities of Tripteroides or its subgenera with certainty.

Characteristics

• Genus Tripteroides is distinguished from all other genera that occur within its distribution based on one or more of the following characters in the adult and larval stages. ADULTS - Erect scales of head restricted to occiput, acrostichal setae absent from median longitudinal area of scutum, scutellum tri-lobed, prespiracular setae present, upper calypter of wing with marginal setae and anal vein ends beyond base of mediocubital crossvein. LARVAE - Seta 3-C ventral, occipital foramen circular with distinct collar, seta 13-P present, comb scales in a single row and the presence of a single pair of seta 4-X. See Sabethini.

Bionomics

• Genus Tripteroides includes domestic and forest species. The larvae inhabit small collections of water in tree holes, bamboo, coconut shells and husks, fallen leaves, leaf axils, flower bracts, pitcher plants and snail shells. A few species occur in artificial containers, and Tr. tasmaniensis has been collected in rock holes. Larvae usually lie upside down on the bottom of the cavity. They feed on arthropods or their remains. Larvae of subgenus Rachisoura are predacious. The adults appear to be active during the daytime. A few species attack and bite humans, but nothing is known about the feeding habits of most species. Among the Oriental species only Tr. aranoides is known to bite humans. Some species have become pests in northwestern Australia where they invade houses.

Medical

• No species of Tripteroides are known to be involved in the transmission of pathogenic agents, and only a few species in certain locations appear to be pests of humans.

Important References

Barraud, 1934 (southern Asia) Thurman, 1959 (Thailand) Belkin, 1962 (taxonomy, South Pacific)

Tanaka et al., 1979 (Japan) Mattingly, 1981 (subgenera Rachionotomyia and Tricholeptomyia, Oriental Region) Lee et al., 1989c (Australasian Region).

Included Taxa

Subgenus POLYLEPIDOMYIA Theobald, 1905 altivallis Bonne-Wepster, 1948 apicotriangulatus (Theobald, 1910) argenteiventris (Theobald, 1905) atripes (Skuse, 1889) caledonicus (Edwards, 1922) coheni Belkin, 1950 collessi Lee, 1946 digoelensis Brug, 1934 floridensis Belkin, 1950 folicola Belkin, 1955 marksae Dobrotworsky, 1965 melanesiensis Belkin, 1955 microlepis (Edwards, 1927) perplexus Peters, 1963 punctolateralis (Theobald, 1903) rotumanus (Edwards, 1929) solomonis (Edwards, 1924) standfasti Peters, 1959 tasmaniensis (Strickland, 1911)   Subgenus RACHIONOTOMYIA Theobald, 1905 affinis (Edwards, 1913) aranoideoides Dong, Zhou & Gong, 2004 aranoides (Theobald, 1901) ceylonensis (Theobald, 1905) coonorensis Mattingly, 1981 dofleini (Guenther, 1913) edwardsi (Barraud, 1929) longipalpis Dong, Zhou & Dong, 1997 nepenthis (Edwards, 1915) nepenthisimilis Mattingly, 1981 pallidothorax Dong, Dong & Wu, 2008 ponmeki Miyagi & Toma, 2001 rozeboomi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 serratus (Barraud, 1929) tenax de Meijere, 1910

Subgenus RACHISOURA Theobald, 1910 adentata van den Assem, 1959 brevirhynchus Brug, 1934 concinnus Lee, 1946 confusus Lee, 1946 cuttsi van den Assem, 1959 exnebulis Bonne-Wepster, 1948 felicitatis Bonne-Wepster, 1948 filipes (Walker, 186l) flabelliger Bonne-Wepster, 1948 fuliginosus Lee, 1946 fuscipleura Lee, 1946 kingi Lee, 1946 latisquama (Edwards, 1927) leei Peters, 1959 longipalpatus Lee, 1946 mathesoni Belkin, 1950 obscurus Brug, 1934 pallidus Lee, 1946 pilosus Lee, 1946 plumiger Bonne-Wepster, 1948 simplex Brug, 1934 stonei Belkin, 1950 subnudipennis (Edwards, 1927) sylvestris (Theobald, 1910) tityae Slooff, 1961 torokinae Belkin, 1950 vanleeuweni (Edwards, 1927)   Subgenus TRICHOLEPTOMYIA Dyar & Shannon, 1925 apoensis Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 barraudi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 belkini Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 christophersi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 delpilari Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 microcala (Dyar, 1929) nepenthicola (Banks, 1909) roxasi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 werneri Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953

Subgenus TRIPTEROIDES Giles, 1904 aeneus (Edwards, 1921) alboscutellatus Lee, 1946 antennalis Bohart & Farner, 1944 bambusa (Yamada, 1917) subspecies bambusa (Yamada, 1917) subspecies yaemamensis Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979 bimaculipes (Theobald, 1905) binotatus Belkin, 1950 bonneti Belkin, 1962 brevipalpis Brug, 1934 caeruleocephalus (Leicester, 1908) cheni Lien, 1968 claggi Bohart & Farner, 1944 denticulatus Delfinado & Hodges, 1968 distigma (Edwards, 1925) dyari Bohart & Farner, 1944 dyi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 elegans Brug, 1934 erlindae Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 hoogstraali Baisas, 1947 indicus (Barraud, 1929) intermediatus Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 knighti Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 latispinus Gong & Ji, 1989 lipovskyi Belkin, 1950 littlechildi (Edwards, 1930) longisiphonus Dong, Zhou & Dong, 2001 lorengaui Peters, 1963 mabinii Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 magnesianus (Edwards, 1924) malayi Delfinado & Hodges, 1968 malvari Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 mendacis (Daniels, 1908) monetifer (Dyar, 1920) nissanensis Lee, 1946 nitidoventer (Giles, 1904) novohanoverae Peters, 1963 plumosus (Brug, 1931) powelli (Ludlow, 1909) subspecies escodae Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 subspecies laffooni Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 subspecies mattinglyi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 subspecies powelli (Ludlow, 1909) proximus (Edwards, 1915) purpuratus (Edwards, 1921) quasiornatus (Taylor, 1915) reiseni Basio, 1971 riverai Miyagi, Toma & Tsukamoto, 1983 similis (Leicester, 1908) simulatus Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 splendens Lee, 1946 sullivanae Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 tarsalis Delfinado & Hodges, 1968 toffaletii Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 uichancoi Baisas & Ubaldo-Pagayon, 1953 vicinus (Edwards, 1914)

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.