Wyeomyia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wyeomyia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| W. smithii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Culicidae |
| Subfamily: | Culicinae |
| Tribe: | Sabethini |
| Genus: | Wyeomyia F. V. Theobald, 1901 |
| Type species | |
| Wyeomyia grayii F. V. Theobald, 1901[1] | |
Wyeomyia is a genus of mosquitoes first described in 1901 by Frederick Vincent Theobald.[2] The genus's 140 species can be difficult to characterize because of their diversity and the need for additional taxonomic work to further delineate them.[2] Adults resemble genus Limatus and Sabethes mosquitoes more closely than other genera in the New World tribe Sabethini,[2] but differ by their scutal scales ranging in color from a relatively dull bronzy with a slight metallic sheen in most species, to a metallic gold.[2] There are other distinguishing characters as well.[2][1][3]
Wyeomyia mosquitoes are predominantly neotropical, ranging across the Caribbean into Florida, with one species occurring in eastern North America.[1][2][3]
Ecology
Most Wyeomyia mosquitoes are forest-inhabiting, preferring damp environments.[1] Larvae develop in small collections of water in bromeliads and aroids, flower bracts, broken bamboo and bamboo stumps, tree holes, pitcher plants, and sometimes man-made containers.[1] They feed on organic matter in the water, including decomposing carcasses of insects and spiders.[3] Some species obtain oxygen directly from the water, rarely, if ever, surfacing.[3]
Adults are active during the day, usually near larval habitats.[1] Some species are found at characteristic elevations in the forest canopy, with others appearing to be restricted to ground level.[1]
Most Wyeomyia species will take blood meals, and females readily feed on humans who enter their habitat.[1] Although Ilhéus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis and Maguari viruses have been isolated from Wyeomyia mosquitoes, they are not known to transmit a disease agent to humans.[1]
