Wyeomyia (Miamyia) hosautos Dyar & Knab

Harbach, Ralph E. & Wilkerson, Richard C., 2023, The insupportable validity of mosquito subspecies (Diptera: Culicidae) and their exclusion from culicid classification, Zootaxa 5303 (1), pp. 1-184 : 137-138

Wyeomyia (Miamyia) hosautos Dyar & Knab

subspecies hosautos Dyar & Knab, 1907 —original combination: Wyeomyia hosautus [sic]. Distribution: Brazil, Colombia, Panama ( Wilkerson et al. 2021).

subspecies leucotarsis Lane, 1936b —original combination: Wyeomyia hosautos var. leucotarsis (subspecific status by Harbach & Howard 2007). Distribution: Brazil ( Lane 1936b).

Wyeomyia hosautos has two synonyms: Wy. euethes and Wy. symmachus , both described by Dyar & Knab (1909b). The three nominal forms were all described from females and have the same type locality, i.e. Tabernilla, Canal Zone, Panama. Howard et al. (1915) synonymized euethes with symmachus , which they treated as a species separate from hosautos . That synonymy was recognized by Dyar (1919a), but he later ( Dyar 1922) recognized both euethes and symmachus as synonyms of hosautos (without explanation but apparently for the reason given below). In summary, Dyar (1922) is credited with the synonymy of euethes and symmachus with hosautos , which continued to be recognized until the present ( Dyar 1923; Bonne & Bonne-Wepster 1925; Dyar 1928; Edwards 1932a; Lane 1953; Stone et al. 1959; Knight & Stone 1977; Harbach 2018; Wilkerson et al. 2021).

The nominotypical form was described from a single adult. Dyar & Knab (1909b) did not mention the sex of the specimen; consequently, it was indicated merely as an adult (A) in the catalogs of Stone et al. (1959), Knight & Stone (1977) and Wilkerson et al. (2021). However, the specimen is obviously a female based on Dyar (1928), who described the female and explicitly stated that the male and larva were unknown. The specimen (holotype) is in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. ( Stone & Knight 1957b). Wyeomyia euethes was described from one female and Wy. symmachus was described from two females bred from larvae ( Dyar & Knab 1909b).

Subspecies leucotarsis was described from eight specimens captured on human bait in forest in Bôa Esperança and Pocinho, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil ( Lane 1936b). The location of the eight syntypes is unknown ( Belkin et al. 1971).

The recognition of leucotarsis , originally described as a variety ( Lane 1936b) and raised to subspecific rank by Harbach & Howard (2007), “Because Lane clearly did not propose the name for an infrasubspecific entity” (Article 45.6.4, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature), is based solely on the presence of more extensive pale scaling on the hindtarsus than is present in hosautos sensu stricto. Lane (1936b) stated: “…in this species [ hosautos ] only the two distal tarsi [tarsomeres] of the hind tarsi are marked in white. In our specimens this marking is much more extensive and goes from the distal portion of the second to fifth tarsus [hindtarsomeres 2–5]. For this reason, we believe that this species is new, which could only be proven with a more complete biology, or a variety. Since this is the only difference, we prefer to take this last option [translated from the Portuguese].”

It is interesting that Dyar & Knab (1907) only mentioned the pale scaling of the midleg, not the hindleg, in the original description of hosautos : “the middle legs with the tip of the second and the succeeding joints [tarsomeres] silvery white on the inner side”. In contrast, Dyar & Knab (1909b) described euethes as having “…the mid tarsi with the tip of the second, the third to fifth joints white below, hind tarsi with the fourth and fifth joints white below except at the tip” and described symmachus as having the “hind tarsi with the last two joints white-scaled beneath nearly to their apices; mid tarsi with the apical three-fourths of the second, and all of the succeeding joints silvery white-scaled beneath”. Obviously, the synonymy of euethes and symmachus with hosautos by Dyar (1922) signifies that hindtarsomeres 4 and 5 of hosautos are also white-scaled beneath (ventrally). We note that midtarsomere 2 is more extensively pale-scaled in symmachus , which may be a specific difference, but choose to retain it as a synonym of hosautos pending further study.

Based on what is presently known about pale scaling on the legs of other New World sabethines, there seems to be little doubt that the position and degree of pale markings, particularly on the mid- and hindlegs, is a distinctive feature of individual species. For this reason, we feel that Lane (1936b) should have acted on his intuitive belief and should have described leucotarsis as a new species. Accordingly, we hereby upgrade leucotarsis to the rank of species: Wyeomyia (Miamyia) leucotarsis Lane, 1936b . We firmly believe that further collection and comparative study of link-reared adults with associated larval and pupal stages and dissected male genitalia will confirm that Wy. leucotarsis and Wy. hosautos are separate species, which appear to have separate geographic distributions. Wyeomyia leucotarsis is currently listed as a species in the Encyclopedia of Life.