NEOTROPICAL REGION
Etymology: Carlos Luigi Spegazzini
Haemagogus spegazzinii is one of 24 described species in the subgenus Haemagogus, and one of 14 now classified in the Albomaculatus Section. The taxonomic history of Haemagogus spegazzinii is complex—the species was synonymized along with Hg. capricornii Lutz, under Hg. equinus Theobald. However, this was clearly a mistake, as the palps of Hg. spegazzinii and Hg. capricornii are approximately one-eighth the length of the proboscis, whereas palps of Hg. equinus are unique, being as long as the proboscis—a trait more common with mosquitoes in the subfamily Anophelinae. Haemagogus spegazzinii is the most common species of Haemagogus in Colombia, and one of only two Haemagogus species reported from east of the Andes.
Type locality: Jujuy, Argentina
Type depository: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadaviall, Buenos Aires, Argentina [Now Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, includes types formerly in MLP & MEPRA]
DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS (Click photos to view; mouse over and click large photo to zoom in.)
ADULT (illustrated): Head: Vertex decumbent scales green to gold. Thorax: Scutal scales metallic-colored, mostly coppery to light bronze; pleuron with single broad vertical band of silver scales; antepronotal scales nearly all silvery; mesopostnotum bare; postpronotal scales dense, coppery to golden; lower mesokatepisternum seta absent or underdeveloped; antealar area with silver scales; coxae silver-scaled. Legs: Fe-II,III lacking apical pale spots; Ta-II dark scaled. Abdomen: Terga without silver scales, instead blue, purple, green or golden.
LARVA (not illustrated): Head: Setae 5,6-C single. Thorax: Setae 5,6-P on common tubercle; seta 12-I absent. Terminal segments: Comb scales sharply pointed with minute fringe, 8–10 in single row; pecten spines 20–24; siphon index 3.2–3.4; saddle with well-developed spines on caudal margin; boss strongly sclerotized; seta 1-S 3–4 branched, inserted about 0.60 distance from base of siphon.
TAXONOMIC KEYS
None
Exemplar DNA sequences
Hg. spegazzinii COI: MH118155
BIONOMICS
Immatures
Immatures have been collected in tree holes and bamboo internodes, but given the large population sizes at certain times of the year, the species is likely to oviposit in other inaccessible sites up in the canopy.
Adults
Haemagogus spegazzinii (as subspecies falco) is associated with low lying forested areas under elevations of 500m. Females are rare in light traps, and males are almost never sampled in nature. The adults can become locally dominant at certain times of the year, accounting for more than 80% of mosquitoes captured. Mating also occurs in swarms, high in the canopy.
DISTRIBUTION NOTES
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela.
WRBU VECTOR HAZARD REPORTS
None; View other WRBU Vector Hazard Reports
Available GIS Models:
None
IMPORTANT REFERENCES (full citations below)
Brèthes 1912: 39 (F)
Cerqueira 1943a: 10 (F*; from synonym with equinus)
Cerqueira & Boshell-Manrique 1946 (M*, F, L*; taxonomy)
Coher 1949 (1948) (F)
Cerqueira 1951: 174 (M*, F, L*; as uriartei)
Lane 1953 (F*)
Lane 1953: 800 (M*, F, P*, L*; as uriartei)
Leví-Castillo 1956 (taxonomy)
Belkin et al. 1968: 14 (type information)
Mattingly 1971a: Pl. 17 (P*)
Arnell 1973: 28 (M*, F, P*, L*)
Mattingly 1973a (E*)
Liria & Navarro 2010 (niche model)
CURRENT SYNONYMS
syn. uriartei Shannon & Del Ponte
1928 (1927): 68 (A). Type locality: Vipos, Tucuman, Argentina (USNM). References: Kumm & Stone & Knight 1955: 289 (type information). Martínez et al. 1961a: 71 (synonymy).
syn. lindneri Martini
1931b: 118 (F). Type locality: Chiquitos, Bolivia (SMNS).
CITED REFERENCES
Arnell, J. H. (1973). Mosquito studies (Diptera, Culicidae). XXXII. A revision of the genus Haemagogus. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 10(2), 1–174.
Belkin, J.N., Schick, R.X., & Heinemann, S.J. (1968). Mosquito studies (Diptera, Culicidae). XI. Mosquitoes originally described from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 4(1), 9–29.
Brèthes, J. (1912). Los mosquitos de la República Argentina. Bol Inst ent Pat veg Buenos Aires, 1–48.
Cerqueira, N.L. (1943a). Algumas espécies novas da Bolívia, e referência a três espécies de Haemagogus (Diptera, Culicidae). Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 39, 1–14.
Cerqueira, N.L., & Boshell-Manrique, J. (1946). Note on Haemagogus spegazzinii Brethes, 1912 (Diptera, Culicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 48(8), 191–200.
Coher, E.I. (1949). A study of the female genitalia of Culicidae; with particular reference to characters of generic value. Entomologica Americana, 28 (1948) (3), 75–112.
Kumm, H.W., & Cerqueira, N.L. (1951). The Haemagogus mosquitos of Brazil. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 42, 169–181.
Lane, J. (1953). Neotropical Culicidae (Vols. I, II). São Paulo: University of São Paulo.
Leví-Castillo, R. (1956). A systematic note on Haemagogus spegazzinii Brethes, 1912. (Diptera-Culicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 58(6), 345–347.
Liria, J., & Navaro, J.-C. (2010). Modelo de nicho ecológico en Haemagogus Williston (Diptera: Culicidae), vectores del virus de la fiebre amarilla. Revista Biomédica, 21, 149–161.
Martínez, A., Carcavallo, R.U., & Prosen, A.F. (1961a). El genero Haemagogus Williston, 1896, en la Argentina (Diptera, Culicidae). Anales del Instituto de Medicina Regional Resistencia, 5(2), 63–86.
Martini, E. (1931b). Die Ausbeute der deutschen Chaco-Expedition 1925/26. - Diptera. XXV. Culicidae. Konowia, 10, 116–120.
Mattingly, P.F. (1971a). Contributions to the mosquito fauna of Southeast Asia. XII. Illustrated keys to the genera of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 7(4), 1–84.
Mattingly, P.F. (1973a). Mosquito eggs. XXII. Eggs of two species of Haemagogus Williston. Mosquito Systematics, 5(1), 24–26.
Shannon, R.C., & Del Ponte, E. (1928). Cuatro notas sôbre espécies nuevas de Dipteros Nematoceros, Hematófagos o no, de la República Argentina. Revista del Instituto Bacteriologico Buenos Aires, (1927), 724–736.
CITE THIS PAGE
Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (Year). Haemagogus spegazzinii species page. Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit Website, http://wrbu.si.edu/vectorspecies/mosquitoes/spegazzinii, accessed on [date (e.g. 03 February 2020) when you last viewed the site].
