Aedes (Fredwardsius) vittatus ( Bigot, 1861 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Turner, James & Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad, 2023, An overview of the mosquitoes of Saudi Arabia (Diptera: Culicidae), with updated keys to the adult females, Zootaxa 5394 (1), pp. 1-76 : 24

Aedes (Fredwardsius) vittatus ( Bigot, 1861) ( Fig. 20 )

Type locality. Corsica, France.

Distribution. This species is found in the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palaearctic Regions ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). It was recently established in the New World ( Pagac et al. 2021). In the Middle East and North Africa, it has been recorded in Algeria, Iran, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen ( Mattingly & Knight 1956; White 1980; Minář 1991; Romi et al. 1997; Schaffner 1998; Brunhes et al. 2000; Eritja et al. 2000; Jupp et al. 2002; Miller et al. 2002; Alahmad et al. 2010; Alahmed et al. 2010; Al Ahmad et al. 2011; Al Ahmed et al. 2013; Al Ashry et al. 2014; Alikhan et al. 2014; Tantely et al. 2016; Irish et al. 2016; Lemine et al. 2017; Tabbabi et al. 2017; Gunathilaka 2018; Al Awaidy & Khamis 2019; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019; Ben Ayed et al. 2019; Alarcón-Elbal et al. 2020; Maquart et al. 2021; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Miller et al. (2002).

Remarks. Service (1970) included Ae. vittatus in the subgenus Stegomyia because of its morphological similarities with Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus) . It was later transferred to the subgenus Aedimorphus by Huang (1977), and treated as a species of that subgenus by White (1980), Minář (1991), Romi et al. (1997), Schaffner (1998) and Eritja et al. (2000). Reinert (2000) transferred Ae. vittatus to the new subgenus Fredwardsius , based on a distinct combination of characters that distinguished it from species of other subgeneric taxa. Reinert et al. (2004), in a phylogenetic study, recognized Fredwardsius as a separate genus; its original subgeneric status was restored by Wilkerson et al. (2015).

Medical importance. Aedes vittatus can transmit yellow fever virus from monkey to monkey in the laboratory ( Huang 1977). It is known to play a role in the maintenance and transmission of chikungunya, dengue, Gomoka, Nigerian, Pongola, Saboya, Simbu, Sindbis, Wesselsbron, yellow fever and Zika viruses within its native range ( Akoua-Koffi et al. 2001; Diallo et al. 2014; Diagne et al. 2015; Tantely et al. 2016; Sudeep & Shil 2017; Pagac et al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 20. Aedes vittatus, male (Natural History Museum, London, photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).